Settle Down
by FarmerBill
Summary: Kitty Faye needs to be strong, and Paul Lahote needs to settle down.
1. Chapter 1

**_I'm pushing through bodies, avoiding me and walking around you, but you're cold and I burn…_**

\- **Settle Down, The 1975**

 _Disclaimer: I own nothing_ _recognisable... enjoy!_

* * *

 _'_ _Yeah, you are my fire – the one desire. Believe when I say, I want it that way… But we are two worlds apart, can't reach to your heart. When you say, that I want it that way – tell me why – ain't nothin' but a heartache. Tell me why – ain't nothin' but a mistake – tell me why, I never wanna hear you say… I want it that way-'_

The Backstreet Boys were cut off abruptly by Katelyn's brother yanking her earphones out. She blinked open her eyes, startled, to her brother's face just inches from her own. She recoiled.

"Hurry up!" Topher moaned impatiently, starting to tug her out of the car, "Mom says she won't open the door until you're here!" he was stronger than her, and almost had her half-out of the car before she wriggled out of his grip. Her younger sister, Alexandra watched with faint amusement, boy-short bob haircut falling in front of her eyes before she impatiently brushed it back.

"Okay, okay! I'm coming!" She planted her feet on the ground and shoved him back, winding her earphones around her iPod, and shoving it deep into her pocket. She felt her eyebrows raise at the sight of their new house. It was bigger than any house she'd ever lived in – and pretty, with slightly worn white weatherboards and climbing ivy around the front windows, and surrounded by forest. "How did we afford this?" She breathed.

For a while now, the Faye family had been struggling with money. Her father had been fired from his long-time job when the company closed down, and he had been looking for work everywhere, before their uncle decided to step in and help. Now he had entered into a partnership with their uncle, and they had opened a chain of small supermarkets. Her father had moved them all to La Push to manage at one of the supermarkets. Of course, Katelyn hadn't been altogether too happy with the sudden move but as usual she had not complained, and had outwardly supported her father's decision. For her, her family's happiness was most important, and she'd give up anything to see them content.

They stood together in front of the door, each of them quiet, and equal parts apprehensive and excited. She smiled slightly up at her father, as he rested his hand on her shoulder. With a deep, audibly breath, her mother unlocked the door, and together, they stepped through. It was light and airy at the moment, but Kitty saw it was definitely going to get cold when the weather got worse than it was now. She left her family and explored the upstairs. There were three bedrooms upstairs, one with a large bed that she assumed was for her parents. She decided that she would leave the other two rooms for Topher and Alex to fight over, because neither of them would want the smaller room. She went downstairs and went to other end of the house, nearing the forest. There the smallest bedroom was, with two large glass doors that operated as windows. Through the trees she could make out glimpses of some water and sand. She knew it was the beach she had seen from the upstairs windows, and she smiled.

"Do you like it, honey?"

She jumped at her father's voice. He was looking at her worriedly. With a faint flush of guilt, she realised that maybe she hadn't been so subtle in her turmoil. "I know its not like the old house-"

"Dad, I love it." She said softly, crossing to him and wrapping her arms around him. "We'll be happy here."

"I'm sorry we had to move so far away…" he muttered into her hair, and squeezing her tightly.

"it's okay, dad… really." She said, and pulled away from him to look him in the eyes, trying to convey her sincerity. She wasn't exactly leaving a lot behind in Colorado. Sure, she had favourite parks and restaurants, and had her music lessons – but she wasn't leaving behind many… people. The Faye family were small – her mother was an orphan, and her father's only brother had died a year before Topher was born, and their grandmother wasn't exactly a fan of their mother so they never saw her – and Topher and Katelyn hadn't exactly been popular in school.

"You have this room, Kitty." Her father said, "And let me know if there is anything else I can do."

"Love you, dad." She murmured, hugging him one last time and stepping back.

He didn't linger long, just gave another loving look before stepping out of the room.

Kitty sagged slightly, and pressed her hands into her eyes.

That was one of the good things about moving so far away – here, they could start again.

 _A fresh start._

Despite being brother and sister, she and Topher were close – closer than she felt to Alex, who was too young to really confide in, and she trusted him with almost everything. He was the only one that knew that she didn't really want to be here. They both shared the fear of going to a Native American dominated school on the reservation. They even looked alike – with freckled cheeks, honey brown hair and green eyes – Kitty's defining feature being her dimples, and Topher's being his splotch of brown on his right iris. They were often mistaken as twins, but Topher was eight months older, Kitty being born a month premature. Topher and Kitty were both slender, but where Katelyn was small, Topher was tall. He often made the joke that she hadn't developed fully – and would stay 'stunted' forever. Even when he had been 13, he was already taller than his mother and sister, but still a little shorter than his father. Luckily for her, he seemed to have stopped growing now – she could still _just_ reach his head to smack him.

In just a week, the second semester of the year would start. Right in the middle of the year. Great news for the school's gossipers, bad news for the siblings.

Their last school they had been… social pariahs somewhat.

It had been fine when they first started high school – and they'd been liked, popular even – but teenagers were cruel, and it only took one incident for them to be rejected by the student body.

To distract herself, Kitty opened every single box, and started putting away her things. So keen to forget all about her anxiety, she even set out an outfit for her first day of school, and began organising her socks by colour. She flopped down on her bed as the sun began to set and her mother called her to the kitchen for dinner. She skipped down the hallway and into the kitchen where she spotted pizza boxes on the bench, and her brother already eating, smears of the tomato base on his cheeks. She frowned at him, "How did you even manage to get sauce there?"

Topher shrugged, "Just superior genes, I guess." He said through a mouthful. Alex made a loud gagging noise, and dodged Topher's warning swipe at her. Kitty decided not to point out the sauce around the thirteen-year-old's mouth.

"Well they're not my genes." Their mother sighed, looking skywards, as if praying for patience. Kitty laughed quietly as their father gasped in mock offence, and Topher shoved the rest of the piece in his mouth obnoxiously.

Their mother, Maria Faye, formerly Gould, was a thin woman with white blonde hair and pale skin. Her eyes were the same green as her children. She married Joseph Faye when she was 21, and perhaps the saying opposites attract really was true. Maria was sharp, organized and efficient to the point of being bossy. Joseph was laid-back, funny, and spontaneous, and dark haired and eyed, and with tan skin like his children. Kitty had inherited her mother's wavy hair, and Topher had their father's unruly curly locks. Alexandra didn't really look like either of them – which Topher liked to say was because she was adopted – but having looked at pictures of their mother's dead parents, it was pretty safe to say she took after her dead grandfather, with stormy blue-green eyes and dead straight strawberry blonde hair, which was almost red, and Maria's pale skin.

Kitty ate her pizza slowly. It wasn't that she didn't like pizza, it was just – that once again – she found her stomach churning with nerves. After dinner, she cleaned up the boxes and unloaded her box of baking goods, intent on making dessert. She had no eggs, and after Topher's frankly ridiculous puppy-eyes, she collected money from her mother and set out on her journey to the store to get eggs and milk.

It was dark outside the house, but she pushed away the uneasiness of walking in an unfamiliar neighbourhood after dark, hoping that the people in the surrounding buildings would hear her scream if she did get in trouble. She entered the small store, not the one her father would be managing – but a small milk bar, and headed straight for the eggs, grabbing some milk as well. She headed up to the counter, where a boy with long hair and dark eyes was looking bored. He saw her, and shifted upright, smiling at her. Kitty thought he looked around the same age as Alex, maybe a little older.

"New, huh?" he said brightly, flashing bright teeth.

Kitty raised her eyebrows, "Uh, yeah. How'd you know?" she passed him her items. He scanned them quickly, barely looking at what he was doing in order to grin at her.

"It's a small place, La Push, you get to know all the faces pretty quickly." He winked, "A gorgeous new face like yours is hard to miss." Kitty felt herself blush, and looked down at the floor quickly.

"Thanks." She said, slightly flustered, and took the bag from him. She turned to go, but he called after her.

"Wait! What's your name?" he said, leaning over the counter slightly.

"Kitty Faye." She smiled at him, "what's yours?"

"Jacob, Jacob Black." He said eagerly, and in that moment, she confirmed her suspicion. Definitely younger.

She grinned at him. "I'll see you round, Jacob-Jacob." She walked out of the store, swinging the plastic bag happily.

She practically skipped back home, and ran through the motions of baking the cookies for her family, but excused herself afterwards, taking her share up to her room. She was feeling surprisingly tired, and as soon as she had showered in her little en suite, she went immediately to sleep.

* * *

The next few days passed in a blur, and Kitty found herself on the eve of her first day of school in what seemed like no time at all. She was on the verge of screaming, she was so nervous about going to the new school, so she went down the hall, pulled out ingredients, and began to bake. Her parents had gone to bed a while ago, so she didn't worry about them hearing her.

She wiped down the last bench at about 1:00am, and left the kitchen silently, leaving trays of muffins and cookies out, cooling. She sighed. She smelt like baked goods, and she'd already had a shower. If she woke and found flour in her bed, she would be extremely annoyed.

Topher had convinced their mother to drop the three of them to school after their father left earlier. It was lightly drizzling, and Kitty grabbed herself an umbrella, and tucked one in Topher's bag when he was brushing his teeth. She could trust Alex to look after herself more than she trusted Topher.

Kitty looked at herself in the mirror. She sighed. She was way too tired to bother with any makeup or hair wrangling. She grabbed her mess of hair, and piled it on top of her head, stabbing a few bobby pins into it to help it to stay put. She banged around a little while longer, waiting for Topher as she usually did. Finally she heard him clomping downstairs, Maria behind him, shooing him downstairs.

"Hurry up! Get in the car! You've made you and your sisters late!" Topher shot straight out the door. Kitty chuckled to herself, and swung his bag over her arm and walked out after him. Her mother made a face at her, "What he would do without you, I have no idea."

"Here, Topher." Kitty passed her brother his bag from the backseat, and put her seatbelt on.

"Thanks, Kitty!" he said cheerfully. She passed him a banana and one of the chocolate muffins she had made last night, and he took them, "Thanks, Kitty!"

"One day, I swear… I _hope_ , you'll be looking after yourself." Kitty said exasperatedly. It had always been like this. If he was left to his own devices, she swore he would forget his head. He twisted in his seat and gave her a wide grin, chocolate covering his teeth. "Ew, Toph!" he laughed, and swallowed his mouthful.

"You're so gross." Alex groaned from beside her, and closed her eyes, plugging in her headphones.


	2. Chapter 2

The bell rang as they got out of the car, and the siblings hopped out, waving goodbye to their mother, and hurried up the steps. "I hate you. Now we have to walk into class with everyone looking at us!" Kitty hissed.

"Sorry!" Topher apologised, "It'll be fine."

"They'd stare either way." Alex pointed out, tugging down her beanie to cover her reddening ears. Her nose was already pink from the cold.

Kitty shook her head exasperatedly and stormed a little ahead. They caught up to her easily. She swore Topher's legs were a million times longer than hers. They went into the reception where a woman with the same dark features as most of the residents was sitting and nodding her head to the faint music playing from an ancient looking radio. She looked up when she heard them, and her face split into a warm smile.

"Hello! You three must be…." She shuffled some papers, and pulled out two schedules, "Alexandra, Topher and Katelyn Faye?"

"That's us!" Topher said enthusiastically, and grabbed the papers, giving the right ones to his sisters, and inspecting it eagerly. "Could you please point us to our first class?" he smiled at her charmingly, and she directed them down the hallways.

"Of course, dears. Alexandra, I'm afraid the junior classes are on the other side of the building."

Kitty chose to ignore Alex's unsubtle swearing as their younger sister banged her way out of reception and broke into a run towards her class. Topher watched her go with a chuckle, looking entirely unapologetic.

It wasn't a very big school, thank goodness, Kitty thought, as they passed lockers and classrooms, until they reached the English class they had to endure. Kitty took a deep breath, and stepped inside, just behind Topher. She avoided looking at the other teens at the desks, and focused her attention on the balding teacher. "Hello, Mr, err, Jameson?" Topher said, squinting at the paper he was holding and up at the man.

"Ah yes. They told me you'd be coming. Mr and Miss Faye. Please take a seat." He looked at the assembled desks. "Mr Faye, please head to that empty desk, I'm sure Mr. Cameron will be re-joining the class after he's gotten over whatever _illness_ he's apparently contracted." Mr Jameson looked at Katelyn, "Miss Faye, please take a seat next to Mr Lahote. Mr Lahote, please raise your hand."

A russet skinned boy with thick black hair to his chin raised his arm nonchalantly, and winked, "I'm willing to raise _anything_ for you, babe." The class burst into laughter, Jameson reddened in annoyance, and Kitty blushed lightly, lowering her face and walking to the chair next to him.

"Mr Lahote! Respect!" Mr Jameson said angrily, Lahote shrugged. Kitty eyed him warily. He turned to her, looking her up and down.

"Huh. Not bad for a pale face."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "A what?" she asked softly.

"A paleface, an outsider like yourself." He clarified. "Paul Lahote, but you can call me anything you want, baby." He held out a hand, Kitty took it, still frowning slightly.

"Katelyn Faye." She said shortly, and turned back round to face the front pointedly. He kept trying to talk to her, but she ignored him. She knew it probably wasn't the best idea to make an enemy on the first day, especially one that seemed to be popular, but she didn't care. He had embarrassed her, and then called her a paleface. Whatever that was.

It was finally their lunch break, and Kitty struggled with her locker for a little while. She gave up, thumping her head against it when she thought no one was looking. Then a small hand appeared out of nowhere, and banged the top corner. It sprung open, and Kitty jumped back in shock. She turned to face her saviour. "Thank you, uh-"

"Kim Colloway." The other girl was taller than Kitty by an inch or two, and had the same russet skin tone as the rest of the student population. "You're Katelyn, right?" Kitty appraised her subtly. She looked nice enough, and she hadn't insulted her within two seconds of meeting her. Her eyes were round and a deep brown behind her glasses, and her full lips turned up naturally at the corners, giving her the illusion of a constant smile.

"Kitty. Everybody calls me Kitty." She offered, and the other girl smiled widely and excitedly. Kitty got the feeling that not many people were jumping over themselves to be friends with Kim. _Well, she would_ , she decided resolutely, and her smile mirrored Kim's. "Kim, do you mind walking me to lunch? I'm not too sure where anything is."

Kim's smile got even wider.

* * *

Kitty poked at her school issued lunch with a scrunched nose, taking in the weird looking pasta of the lasagne. "Not good enough for you, paleface?" Paul's sneering voice made her head jerk up, as he walked by with some other boys. He towered over them, and seemed to know it. Kitty looked down at her food.

"Hey, don't worry about Paul. He's been a dick since he's had that growth spurt. He'll leave you alone soon enough." Kim said supportively, patting the girl's hand. Kitty sighed, but nodded. Kim had brought her own lunch, as had about half of the other students. Kitty sighed. She'd have to start packing lunches now.

She played with her food, turning it to a greyish mass. "I give up!" she exclaimed finally. Kim laughed, and passed her an apple. Kitty smiled thankfully. "I'll just chuck this in the trash." She looked for nearest bin. It was right next to Paul's table, she winced, but headed over anyway. She had almost got there when someone called her name.

"Kitty!" she turned to see her brother waving furiously, standing with 3 other boys. She smiled at him, and tried to keep walking.

Then suddenly she was falling face first towards the ground. Desperately, she thrust the tray away from her, trying to catch herself. She landed heavily on her stomach, groaning slightly. Some people were laughing already, then there was a chorus of ' _oooooooohhh_ ', and she looked up to see Paul standing up, shaking slightly, her ex-lasagne dripping from the back of his head. Her eyes flew open wide, and she quickly scrambled up off the ground, slipping over a little on the rest of the lasagne, apologies bubbling on her lips.

Paul turned to face her, and his face was so terrifying she let out a little squeak of fear. If the saying 'looks could kill' was true, then she was dead a thousand times over. His face was downright murderous, and he started stalking towards her. He was shaking so hard, it looked like he was vibrating. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! I WILL KILL YOU."

"I-I'm so s-sorry, I didn't mean-" she said shakily, but was interrupted.

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT YOU'RE SORRY, YOU LITTLE BITCH! YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE! GO BACK TO WHATEVER HELL-HOLL YOU CRAWLED FROM AND NEVER. COME. BACK." He bellowed, towering over her. He raised a hand as if to hit her, and she curled into herself instinctively, fear making her flinch away. He was grabbed from behind by his friends, and they pulled him back trying to calm him, but he was bigger than all of them and shook them off. He came at her again, but then Topher was there, standing between the two of them.

"Back the fuck off bro!" he said warningly. Paul just growled, physically growled deep in his throat, and Topher looked at him in confusion. He raised his fists, and although he was taller than any of Paul's friends, he was still shorter than Paul himself. Kitty felt her stomach flip at the sight of them squaring off.

Then the crowd dispersed quickly.

A teacher stood beside a tall man, directly behind Paul. Without explanation, the man went right up to Paul, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him outside, roughly dragging him through the cafeteria doors and out of sight. Kitty thought he might have been a senior. The teacher, Mr. Lucca clapped his hands, and everyone returned to various seats around the room. Kitty remained paralysed. He had wanted to _kill_ her! She blinked away burning tears, and folded in to Topher's guiding arm, and sat back down next to Kim on their table. She was shaking slightly.

Kim stared at her with wide eyes, "Are you okay?" Kitty shook her head, a couple of tears trickling slowly down her cheeks. "I've- I've never seen him do anything like that before. It was like Jared before he got sick. Maybe they've got the same thing. God, I'm so sorry, Kitty. You probably won't come back will you…" she looked a little sad, and Kitty hastened to reassure her – despite the fact that her words weren't doing much to cheer her up.

"No, I will be. I won't let that- that brute scare me off." She said resolutely. She huffed a breath, and wiped away the tears, and picked up the apple Kim had given her earlier, and took a big bite. She eyed Topher's concerned face challengingly. He shook his head, and leaned back in his seat, turning his attention to Kim.

With his usual charming grin, he leant towards her. "I'm Topher, nice to meet you." He held out a hand to Kim, and she took it, smiling shyly.


	3. Chapter 3

When the Faye siblings got home, Kitty went straight to the kitchen and poured her frustrations and sadness out into an old shortbread recipe. Then she went to her room, opened the back door and screamed into the forest. Feeling much calmer, she went back inside. Just as she closed the glass doors, it started to pour. "Good timing." She said humourlessly. She looked at her room, lit dimly by the grey light from outside. In the corner, her old acoustic guitar sat. She hadn't played since before the move, and she wondered idly if the thing was even still tuned. Gently, she rested it over her knee on the bed, and ran her fingers over the strings. It took her a little while to re-tune it, and then before she knew it, she was strumming out familiar tunes, relaxing into the ingrained motion of playing.

She ate dinner with her family, smiling and laughing, the memories of the disaster fading from her head. As she stood to get dessert, a long mournful howl spilt the air. Kitty's head went to the dark forest visible through the window. It had sounded a long way off. Other howls joined in. "Was that a wolf?" she asked softly, placing shortbread and milk in front of her family.

"Could be. It's not uncommon to find wolves in forests so close to people." Her father said, picking up his cookie and eating it whole.

"Yes, well, let's hope it doesn't get any closer to people." Her mother said, neatly nibbling the cookie.

Kitty smiled to herself. "I think they're beautiful. If they want to share the forest, let them." She said softly, staring out at the dark trees.

* * *

Kitty walked into school, head held high, but alert, unable to stop the faint thunder of her heart. Kim called her over, and she joined her at the locker – grateful for a friend. "Hey, Kitty, where do you live?" she asked cheerfully, and Kitty eyed her warily.

"31 Coast Guard road." She said, fiddling with her book's arrangement on the top shelf, "Why?"

"Well, my mum is friends with Mrs. Young, who's just moved from the Makah rez, to be near her sister, and she had a daughter who just turned one – Claire – and she totally needs a babysitter." They started walking to class, Kim babbling excitedly. "She left her husband, and she didn't really have anywhere else to go, so she bought a house, and guess where it is?!"

"Coast Guard road?" Kitty said, a faint smile on her face from her new friend's antics.

"Yes! And because she needs cash, she has to work a _lot_ , and I thought to myself, 'who needs a job, and could use some cred with the adults here?'" Kim looked at Kitty, beaming, "You! I told my mum, and she told Mrs. Young, and she said; 'anyone your daughter thinks is suitable will do fine.'"

"You told your mom about me?" Kitty asked curiously.

"Uh, yeah." Kim blushed under her russet colouring. "I realize how weird that is now."

"No! No. Thank you! That's great!" she touched Kim's arm, "You've just saved this lazy-ass a whole lot of job hunting."

"I refuse to believe you're a lazy-ass!" Kim said playfully.

Kitty kept an eye out for the rest of the day, but Paul never showed.

And then the day after, and the day after that.

The whole week he wasn't at school, and Kitty went home on the Thursday of the next week, feeling at peace. The school had seemed to forget about the incident, and she had made a few new friends. Kim had come over for dinner a few times, and her parents had fallen in love with the shy girl.

Kitty went to school on Friday in high spirits.

She bounced into school, wearing her favourite summer dress – converted to La Push weather appropriate with a pair of tights and boots, and a thick scarf and cardigan. She was excited to tell Kim that she had her first baby sitting session with Claire tonight. She saw Kim almost instantly, leaning against her locker, a dumb struck smile on her face. "Hey, Kim!" when Kim didn't say anything, Kitty tapped her, with a small giggle. "Whatcha looking at?"

Kim snapped out of her daze, wiping at her mouth, "Huh? What?" Kitty raised her eyebrows, "Oh! Right… Jared's back." She said dreamily. Kitty laughed at her love-struck friend.

"Oooh! Jared's back! Is he more handsome then he was before?" she tittered with her friend. Kim nodded enthusiastically, and the two girls surreptitiously turned to peek at the hulking mass of muscle that was Jared. Kitty's eyes widened. "Was he always this big?" she gasped.

Kim frowned, "No, not really. He had a massive growth spurt in the last couple of months, and now he's… well, he's…" she rested her hand on her chin, "Dreamy." She sighed. Jared turned at the words, and Kitty turned her head away quickly, giggling wildly. Kim however was frozen.

"Kim!" she hissed. "Don't stare at him!" Kim was completely entranced, and Kitty turned to see Jared staring at her open-mouthed. "What…?" Kitty furrowed her brows in confusion. Then Jared stood up. Kitty eyed him warily as he started making his way to their table in the corner. "Kim!" she hissed at her friend, but it was too late. Jared sat down next to Kim.

"Hey, uh, Kate is it?" He asked, voice deeper than Kitty expected, deeper than she'd heard a boy speak. Kim made a choking sound, and Kitty kicked her under the table. This was… impossible… it felt like something was happening, something she didn't understand.

"N-No. It's Kim." Kim said, completely star-struck. Jared blushed,

"Oh, my god. I'm so sorry, _Kim_." He said her name like it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard, and Kitty swore Kim swooned a little. "You sit next to me in trig right?" Kim nodded wordlessly. "Do you think, uh maybe sometime you could, um, tutor me?" he sounded so nervous that Kitty almost felt sorry for the massive boy – man. Kim continued to stare. Kitty kicked her again.

"Yes! Sorry, yeah, totally." She nodded vigorously. Jared's face spilt into a bright grin and Kim mirrored him. "Does tonight work for you?" she asked boldly, colouring as she waited for an answer.

Jared's smile grew even brighter. "Yeah. What time do you want me round?"

"Does sevenish work?" Kim said, and he nodded.

"Okay, I'm _really_ sorry, but I've gotta go – I'll see you later, _Kim._ " He stood up, and with no explanation, just jogged out of the cafeteria.

"Okay. That may have been the weirdest thing that has ever happened." Kitty said, gazing wide eyed at Kim. Kim's mouth was ajar. Her chocolate eyes met Kitty's green. Then she squealed.

"What the _hell!_ I just got a date with _Jared_!" Kitty laughed with her friend. "Did you see him? Oh. My. God. I think I'm gonna faint."

"Now?" Kitty giggled, "I thought you were going to faint when he sat next to you!" Kim twisted happily in her seat.

"I am so happy I am going to die. Seriously." Kim's face fell for a second as she regarded Kitty. "Wait, we didn't have plans or anything right? I just blanked out when he said my _name_." she pretended to swoon.

"No, we didn't." Kitty shook her head, "I actually have my first baby sitting job with Rosemary, and Claire."

"Oh yeah!" Kim stood with her friend as the bell went. "Tell me how that goes." The girls embraced and headed to the last classes of the day. Kitty headed for the art rooms, which were disconnected from the main building. As she meandered over, her eyes fell upon the forest – eyes widening as she thought she made out the figures of three massive men. As her gaze fell on them, two of them ran back into the trees. One remained, but only for a second longer. She frowned, but pushed the weird incident from her mind as she filed into class and took her usual seat towards the back.

Art wasn't exactly her strong point.


	4. Chapter 4

Kitty stood in front of the mirror, brushing stray pieces of lint from her outfit. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous, it was just a babysitting job. She just felt the weird need to prove that she wasn't just a too-good pale face – thinking that she was above everyone, like Paul had said.

Kitty sighed. Why did she care what _Paul_ said?

" _Come on, Kitty! You can do it_!" she whispered at her reflection. "Okay." She nodded at herself. "Mom! I'm ready to go!" she yelled down the corridor.

"Alright, honey! Just let me get my keys!"

Kitty heaved another breath, and smiled one last time at her reflection, gave herself the finger guns, and backed out of the room.

* * *

Kitty rapped on the small – but pretty – weatherboard house. There was a faint cry of ' _coming!'_ and then the door swung open. A young woman, with a face made older than it was by worry lines collecting on her forehead, was bouncing a crying child.

"Oh! You must be Katelyn – Or do you prefer Kitty, like Kim said?" Rosemary bounced Claire, looking at Kitty questioningly. Kitty could see that Rosemary was pretty – under the layers of makeup she was wearing. She wondered what work Rosemary did. The baby – Claire – stared at her, struck mute by her curiosity.

"I prefer Kitty, if that's okay." Kitty smiled. When the woman made no movement, she shifted slightly. "Do you mind if I come inside?"

"Oh, yes! I'm so sorry," Rosemary stepped back, letting Kitty inside. Claire resumed her loud crying. "I'm just so scattered tonight!" her eyes flickered to her hallway clock, and her eyes widened. "And late! I'm so sorry, but I really do have to go! There's instructions on the envelope in the kitchen – and you've caught her on a bad night, so she's a bit irritable."

Claire was pushed into Kitty's arms, and then Rosemary was gone, in a cloud of perfume. Kitty took a breath, and looked at Claire, who had stopped crying and was looking at her in surprise at the abrupt movement. "Well, Claire. Just you and me now." Claire whimpered, and then threw her head back and released a loud howl, descending into tears again. Kitty's eyes widened in horror, and she looked around until she found the kitchen, and sat Claire on the counter. "Hey! Hey, now. Don't cry!" at a loss, Kitty sought for something to calm Claire. Biting her lip, she sought a lullaby she could only just remember.

 _"Lullaby, and good night, in the skies stars are bright._

 _May the moon's silvery beams bring you sweet dreams._

 _Close your eyes now and rest, may these hours be blessed._

 _'Til the sky's bright with dawn, when you wake with a yawn."_

Claire had stopped the loud bawling and was looking at Kitty curiously again. Kitty smiled and kept singing.

" _Lullaby, and good night, you are mother's delight._

 _I'll protect you from harm, and you'll wake in my arms."_

Claire was silent, and Kitty took the chance of picking her up again, and kept humming the tune of the sweet lullaby. Claire relaxed into Kitty, as Kitty took the time to explore the house, and read the letter of instructions.

Dinner time for Claire was soon, and apparently there was food in the fridge. Kitty frowned as she looked at the gross looking, tinned mush. She looked at Claire who was blinking at her, and raised her eyebrows. "Ew! No thank you, am I right, Claire?"

Claire gurgled, and Kitty took that as an affirmative. She strapped Claire into her highchair, and pulled out carrots, peas, potatoes and some cold chicken.

She boiled it all down, and then mashed it all up, put a squirt of ketchup in it and gave it a mix. She ate a mouthful. "Hmmm. Not too shabby. If I'll eat it, then you'll eat it." When it was cool enough, she sat down with Claire and helped the young girl eat her dinner. Claire babbled senselessly, waving her hands around in-between mouthfuls, making Kitty laugh.

* * *

When Rosemary came back home, she was surprised to see both Claire fast asleep in her cot, and Kitty asleep in the chair next to her. A book was open on the floor, leading Rosemary to believe that she had been reading to Claire.

A small smile split Rosemary's face, and she woke Kitty gently, feeling a stab of guilt for disturbing the girl's sleep. The young woman twitched as she woke, and jumped as she realized that Rosemary was standing over her.

"Oh! Hello, Mrs. Young." She whispered, shooting Claire a wary look. "I'm sorry I fell asleep; I didn't realize the time."

"That's alright, Kitty. Thank you very much." Rosemary pressed the money into Kitty's hand and Kitty bowed her head in thanks.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow night." She waved goodbye to the woman after pressing a kiss to Claire's forehead. Kitty smiled to herself as she walked down the dark street to her house. She was feeling good about this babysitting job.


	5. Chapter 5

Saturdays were probably Kitty's favourite days.

She didn't have to worry about school the next day, and she had a whole house to herself on this particular day, because her mom's job ran on Saturday, as did her dad's, and Topher had said he was trying out for a soccer team in Forks. So when Kitty got down stairs, the house was silent.

She took full advantage of it, and sang loudly as she prepared to go for a walk on the beach. She was really enjoying the Dixie Chicks at the moment, despite not being a massive fan of country music. She bobbed her head, doing a strange little slide movement to her imaginary beat.

" _She needs, WIDE OPEN SPACES_!" she yelled loudly, before a loud and unexpected howl made her jump. She put a hand to her chest, feeling her heart beating quickly through her fingers. "God. These wolves." She said quietly, and swung her small beach bag over her shoulder. It was far too cold for her to even think about swimming, so instead she shoved her book into her bag along with her towel, and an umbrella. Better safe than sorry in this part of Washington.

Kitty locked her glass doors behind her, and headed over the small lawn and jumped the low fence to get to the forest, and the beach through it. She kept her eyes on the small bit of water and sand she could see, to make sure she didn't get lost. It was darker than she had expected in the woods, and Kitty could freely admit how unnerving it was. She had always scared easily – and was jumpy by nature.

Every little wind rustling through the trees made her jump, and every stick she crunched underfoot made her look around nervously. Then – a low intake of breath, that was most definitely _not_ hers, made her look around wildly. Then something shot past her, knocking her over, and sending her sprawling on the ground. Kitty gasped, scrabbling to get up, as she heard footsteps approaching her. She jumped up, and whirled, but saw nothing.

Gulping down a shaky breath, she looked around again, as a low chuckle floated out of nowhere. "H-hello?" she called, voice loud in the closed in quiet of the trees.

" _H-h-h-hello?_ "

A voice mocked her, and the faintest rustle behind her made her turn, and almost fall over again, as she came face to face with a pale skinned man, leering at her. "Hello, little darling." Kitty was entranced. He was hauntingly beautiful, with gorgeous features – almost childlike. But his eyes were scary – blood-red and unblinking. He smiled and leaned in closer to her, sniffing. Kitty flinched back. "Oh, don't be scared, pretty one! And you are pretty… almost tempted to bring you back to Mary and let her change you – if for nothing but the beauty you'll make." He was almost talking to himself, muttering as he stared at her unblinkingly.

"Wha-what the hell are you talking about?" Kitty squeaked, and gasped as he disappeared in a streak, and then an ice-cold hand closed around her throat from behind. She screamed, and jumped forward, out of his hold.

He just laughed. "Well, go on then, pretty one! I'll even give you a head start."

Kitty felt herself go cold at his insinuation. Tears welled up in her eyes as he faked jumping at her. She stumbled over her feet, trying to keep him in her sight, as she started running. He was soon out of her sight, but she couldn't find the beach or a way out to her house, turned around in her fright, and too deep in the unfamiliar forest. "Oh no, oh no, oh no…" she panted. "Help! Help me!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping someone, anyone would hear.

Then she was being thrown through the air. With a crack that made her shriek with pain, she hit a tree and fell heavily to the ground. She struggled to draw breath into her lungs. She looked up as she saw pale bare feet saunter towards her. He was tutting, frowning.

"Oh, pretty one… I said run, not yell for help!" he chuckled, shaking his head as he squatted next to her, and ran a cold finger down her face, catching one of her frightened tears as it slipped down her cheek. "But I forgive you. There's no one to help you anyway. Not in time-"

A loud, low growl reverberated around the copse of trees, and the man froze, eye widening further. "No…" he whispered, looking terrified. "Impossible…"

He turned slowly, not straightening from his crouch. Behind him, loomed three impossibly gigantic wolves staring – no, glaring – at the man. As he made to move, the black one growled. Kitty tried to breathe again, but at the sharp pain decided it would be better to stay still and content herself with shallow breathing. Because this was impossible.

 _She'd tripped and hit her head and she was dreaming._

Sudden movement from the man made her jump, as he broke into a sprint out of the clearing. With another growl, the black one gave a little nod, and the dark brown wolf with odd grey fur around his eyes and the dark silver one – not as a big as the black wolf, but bigger than the brown – leapt forward and ran after the man.

The black wolf padded closer to her, and even though she was sure that this was some weird concussion dream, Kitty flinched back, despite the sharp pain in her ribs. "Please… please… just don't hurt me…" she whispered, holding up her hand. She sounded pathetic even to her own ears, unable to draw deep enough breath to sound above a whisper. The black wolf made a whimpering sound, and lowered its head, blowing a gust of warm breath at her, making her close her eyes. The world flashed and throbbed around her when she reopened her eyes. "Definitely hit my head." She muttered, and allowed her body to relax and slump down. The black wolf hadn't moved, but she swore there was something like concern in its yellow eyes. "I know you shouldn't go to sleep when you've hit your head, Mr Wolf, but I am seriously fighting the urge to close my eyes right now."

The wolf yipped and shook its head. Kitty laughed weakly. "Okay now I'm just crazy. Can you hallucinate this vividly with a concussion?" then she heard footsteps, and she froze. "No, no, no! He- he's back! Please wolf, don't go…" but the wolf was slinking away, as her heart began to pound.

Kitty felt her breathing increasing rapidly as the footsteps came closer and closer. Panic overwhelmed her, making her vision blurry, as both the lack of oxygen, her head wound, and the pain in her ribs made her body shut down. Blackness crept into her sight, obscuring a head and shoulders appearing in her vision. There was a loud gasp, and a muttered expletive from above her, and then Kitty was lost to the world, as something began shaking her slightly.

* * *

" _Kitty!"_

 _"Katelyn!"_

 _"Hey, honey, wake up for me!"_

Kitty groaned as the worried voices of her parents bounced around painfully in her skull. She could immediately place herself in a hospital, the sheets scratchy and uncomfortable, and the faint beeping of a heart monitor clue enough.

"Oh, my baby! We were so worried!" she blinked open her eyes at her mother's tearful admission, and found her family sitting around her. Topher was watching her – eyes wide and worried, Alex staring at her with unblinking eyes. Her mom and dad were openly crying. "How are you feeling, honey?" her mom stroked her face gently, and Kitty frowned.

"I-I'm fine, I think… what happened?" All four sat back.

"What do you mean? Can't you remember?" Topher grabbed her hand anxiously, and she shook her head, smiling reassuringly – smile fading as she recalled the incident.

"No! No, I remember fine – but it couldn't be real what I saw. I thought I was thrown into a tree by a red-eyed man, and then there were giant wolves-"

Her heart monitor began to beep loudly as she remembered what she had thought had happened… her panic was real, but everything else… she must have been dreaming. Her family exchanged looks, and Topher squeezed her hand as the door opened and a doctor came in, smiling.

"Hello there, Katelyn!" he came and examined her, flicking a light across her eyes and gently palpating her ribs, before he scribbled something into a pad he was holding. "It seems that you've slept off most of your concussion – under supervision of course. You've also fractured a rib, so I'll be giving you pain medication for that and for any headaches because of your concussion. You're a bit bruised but I'm not worried so much about that. You need to take it very easy, stay in bed for the rest of this Sunday, and then you should be able to go to school on Monday – but no stress, no sports, and _no_ scares. Got it?" Kitty nodded, and the doctor looked at her parents, "I would recommend just having the teachers keep an eye on her – if she's experiencing much pain, then I'd just keep her at home, okay?"

Kitty's parents nodded eagerly. "I can keep an eye on her at school." Topher said solemnly, and gave Kitty a smile. Kitty smiled back sleepily. Her IV was trickling something numbing into her, and she was struggling to stay awake. She leant back into her pillows, and let her eyes slide shut.


	6. Chapter 6

Kitty woke up early the next morning in her own bed. She wished she hadn't. A pounding pain, both from her ribs, and her head was making her dizzy. She reached for the little pill bottle on her bedside table, swallowed two dry, and waited a little until she felt it abate.

Slowly, she sat up, wincing, and shuffled for her shower, stripping and letting cold water soothe her head further. But her ribs still ached – even more so at the cold. She sighed, but decided to accept her early wake up, as it gave her time to get dressed, which was useful, considering her struggle to move.

She knew if she asked her parents, she could stay home, but she didn't think she could stand another day of bed rest. Two had been more than enough for her. Her eyes flickered to the forest visible behind the glass, and she shivered as those strange images rose to the forefront of her mind, unbidden. She was on the verge of panic again, but she shook her head.

"No. Calm down, Kitty. It was just your imagination. Besides, the wolves weren't that bad, were they? That big black one made sure you were okay." She smiled to herself, picturing Mr. Wolf, as large as her imagination had made him. She looked out into the trees again, and her eyes widened as a large dark shape moved quickly past, obscuring the beach for a second. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. "See? Nothing. Now you're just being silly."

* * *

Kitty watched patiently as Topher bounced ahead of her in the hallway, before realizing she was still lagging behind. He turned around, a guilty look on his face. "Sorry, Kit-Kat." He reached her side, and looped her arm with his, being careful not to brush her side.

Kitty smiled at him tiredly. "It's fine, Toph. We have English first." Sudden realization filled her, and she hunched down slightly. "What if Paul's there?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Topher scowled. "Just sit next to me. I don't care what Jameson says – I don't want you near him."

"Don't worry, Toph. I don't want to be near him either." She smiled suddenly. "We can just say the doctor said you have to look after me." Topher grinned wickedly.

"Amazing! Great plan, Kit-Kat."

Mr. Jameson eyed the two siblings as they walked in together, small cruel smile growing on his face. "Ah. Miss Faye. I'm _so_ glad to see that you have in fact survived your ordeal. Do not assume this excuses you from the reading – I still expect the summary. You too, Mr. Faye."

Topher's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Are you serious, sir?!" he stepped forward, and gestured at Kitty. "She's been in hospital all weekend, and you expect her to have done the reading?"

Kitty brushed his arm in comfort. "It's fine, Toph." She directed her speech to Mr. Jameson, smiling her most winning smile at him. "I'm sorry sir, I didn't actually do the reading, but if it's okay with you, I can do it tonight?" she asked hopefully. Jameson regarded her.

"No. It's not ' _okay_.'" He mimicked her voice slightly. "Detention – for both of you – unless you have in fact done the reading, Mr. Faye?" His beady eyes focussed on the sheet of paper in Topher's left hand. Scowling, Topher shoved a piece of paper with his summary on it at him. "Excellent. Miss Faye, I'll see you straight after school." There was a low growl from behind them all, and Kitty turned, locking eyes with an irate looking Paul. She gulped at the murderous look in his eyes, and turned away quickly. "Did you have something to say, Mr. Lahote?" Jameson asked, pursing his lips.

Kitty peeked from behind Topher, and watched as Paul shuddered slightly, looking at Jameson furiously. "Yes." He ground out. Jameson raised an eyebrow, waiting. The whole class was looking at Paul, expectantly – almost as if expecting him to shout at Kitty again. Jared was half out of his chair, a worried look on his face. "Fuck you and your stupid summary." Paul said finally, smirking defiantly. Jameson's mouth fell open.

"Detention! Detention for you Mr. Lahote. I'll see you after school as well." Jameson said shrilly. Topher barked a surprised laugh, as did half of the class. Jared relaxed back into his seat, and Kitty just watched Paul wide eyed. He met her gaze, and winked at her. Kitty frowned instantly, and ducked her head. "Take your seats!" Kitty looked at Topher desperately, seeing that there were no desks with two seats. Topher bit his lip thoughtfully, and as Jameson turned to write something on the board, he slid quickly into the seat next to Paul, and nodded Kitty towards the seat next to Jared.

Both Paul and Jared were wearing identical confused expressions, but Kitty ignored them, and slid in quietly next to Jared. She was almost as uneasy with Jared, as he was almost as big as Paul, and she knew that they hung out together now. But she also knew that Kim and Jared had been going out, so she relaxed a little. She trusted Kim's judgement.

"Hey there." Kitty jumped at Jared's loud voice, wincing as it made her head pang. He was looking at her curiously, scanning her intently.

"Um, hi." She said quietly, so that she didn't draw Jameson's attention, and to avoid irritating her headache. He frowned at something past her, before his eyes slid to hers again.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, voice low and quieter than his initial start. Kitty looked at him again, frowning slightly. "You know – after Saturday?"

Kitty's eyebrows quirked in confusion. "How did you know that it was Saturday?" Jared looked panicked for a moment, but she sighed. "Did Kim tell you?"

Jared breathed a relieved sigh, looking behind her for a second. "Oh. Yeah, yeah, she did." He raised his eyebrows, "So how are you feeling, then?" his eyes darted past her, and she turned to see what he was looking at. She swallowed nervously, as she caught the heated gaze Paul was searing her with. She looked away quickly and smiled nervously at Jared.

"I'm, um, I'm alright. Just a bit sore walking around. And loud noises are not good right now." She said softly. That was also part of the reason she was relaxing. Compared to the majority of people in the corridors, his voice was low and quiet, not aggravating her headache.

Jared nodded, smiling brightly, and she flushed at the sudden flash of perfect teeth, and genuine happiness. "That's great to hear. We're – uh, I mean, _I'm_ glad that you're feeling better than before." Kitty felt herself smile back slightly.

"Miss Faye! Mr Cameron! Face the front and pay attention or you'll be in for double detention!" Kitty winced as Jameson's loud high-pitched voice made her head pound. Jared smiled sympathetically.

Kitty could feel Paul's burning gaze through the whole double period, and although she wanted to turn and look at him for some reason – she resisted, knowing he was probably just staring daggers and plotting... something.


	7. Chapter 7

To her surprise, Jared followed her to her locker – but once she saw Kim's eager face, she wasn't so confused. She could tell that he had a real thing for her, as he had spent most of the last period asking her about Kim. It was quite sweet, actually. She let Kim hug her gingerly around the neck, and then stepped back to let the two lovebirds talk. Someone clearing their throat made her turn, a bright smile on her face – expecting Topher.

But she found herself looking right into the middle of a large chest, straining against a thin cotton shirt. She looked up slowly, smile fading as she realized exactly who she was looking at. Paul was watching her eagerly and intently. Kitty shrunk back quickly against her locker, whimpering as the impact jolted her ribs.

Paul's face instantly shifted to worry, and he moved closer, "Are you okay? Where does it hurt?" Kitty watched him with wide eyes as he put out his hands to grab her. She shook her head, and darted sideways.

"Don't-" she started, but stopped herself as she saw Paul's heartbroken face. "W-what do you want? Another apology? I'm sorry, I really am. I should've been watching where I was going-"

"What? No, no. Stop." Paul was looking suddenly angry. "Don't apologize."

"But I thought-"

"NO. Just stop." Paul said through gritted teeth. Kitty flinched back, his loud voice unexpectedly making a flare of pain burst in her head. His eyes flashed, "And stop doing that! I'm not going to hurt you, god!" But Kitty wasn't so sure. He was looking distinctly angry, and even shaking slightly. He took a step closer, and she let out a soft cry of fear.

Instantly, Jared was there, putting a hand firmly on Paul's chest. "Let's all just take a step back. Why don't you two go get lunch. I'll meet you there, Kim." Kim was suddenly at Kitty's side, and gently dragged her away. Her eyes remained locked with Paul's, confused at the horror and anger there. Jared was whispering something into his ear, and Paul finally stopped looking at her, dragging his gaze away and looking at Jared, he nodded, and then turned – running out of the school.

Kitty turned around, and ignored Kim's worried gaze.

Again, she felt like she was missing something – fear and confusion turning her stomach into knots.

* * *

Kitty waited for Kim to get her lunch, watching the grey sky through one of the cafeteria windows absently. She couldn't stop worrying about what Paul was going to do when there was no-one there to stop him in their detention.

"Hey, Kit-Kat." She looked up to see Topher next to Kim, grinning. They both took a seat on either side of her. His face dropped as he took in her unsettled pout. "What happened? Did Paul do something? Should I kick his ass?"

There was a laugh, and Kitty looked up from her sandwich to see Jared gracefully swinging his long legs under the table and sitting down. "I'd like to see you try, T-man."

Topher narrowed his eyes. "Don't think I could take him?" he flexed his biceps, and whilst they weren't small, Kitty's quick glance at Jared's arms, and her remembrance of Paul's physique made her very sure her brother would get crushed. He smiled suddenly – his easy-going nature never allowing him to be serious for long. "Look at these babies! They put your bowling balls to shame, J-C."

"Listen, whilst your English and soccer skills are mad, maybe leave the fighting to the big boys." Jared said teasingly, and Kitty smiled. She was glad that Topher had made friends with Jared, so that the four of them could hang out comfortably. Kim nudged her, and Kitty gasped as she brushed her rib.

Kim paled. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" Kitty smiled tightly, letting her know it was okay, "I just wanted to know what you were going to do about Claire and Rosemary?"

Kitty's face fell. "Oh no! I was supposed to babysit Claire on Saturday night. I feel so bad."

Topher shook his head, "I'm sure that Rosemary understood. Besides, don't you have babysitting tonight anyway? You can make it up to her then." Kitty nodded.

"I guess you're right."

It didn't stop her from feeling awful though – a job was a job, and she didn't want Rosemary to think she was unreliable.

"I'm always right, Kit-Kat. Now take your medicine." Topher slid her two pain pills he'd pulled out of his pocket.

"Thanks, Toph." Kitty said, smiling. She accepted Jared's water with a grateful smile, and swallowed them down, sighing as she could feel them begin to take effect. "So much better…"

* * *

Kitty got through the rest of her day easily enough, because on Mondays, the only classes she had with Paul was the double English. She had Kim last period in her economics, and waved goodbye to her friend sorrowfully as she made her way slowly over to Jameson's classroom, trepidation filling her with every step.

She knocked on the door, and entered. Paul was already leaning against one of the desks, and his face lit up as they made eye contact. He was looking oddly relaxed, and the smirk that slid across his face was distinctively less creepy the others she'd seen.

Jameson made a tutting noise, and shoved a notepad into her hands. "Finally, Miss Faye. I want you two in the storeroom, re-shelving and organizing the supplies. They must all be checked off this list. I want it all done to my satisfaction by 5:30, otherwise you'll be back again tomorrow." Kitty nodded. It sounded fair enough. She followed the teacher to the small storeroom in-between the two classrooms, clutching the notepad with the supply list on it. She gulped as she realized she was going to be in close quarters with Paul.

She stepped in first, and her jaw dropped. "Oh no." she said quietly. The sensation of heat at her back made her aware that Paul was standing behind her.

He growled at the sight of the storeroom. It looked like a bomb had gone off, filled with school supplies. The shelves reached to the low ceiling, higher than Kitty could even hope to reach, and there was barely a space in the room where the floor was clear. They both looked back at Jameson, who gave them an evil smile, then waved his hands as if to say 'get on with it.'

 _God help her._


	8. Chapter 8

She stepped in slowly, painfully aware of Paul shadowing her closely. She winced as she bent over, trying to upright a chair that was lying randomly on its side. She must have made some sound of discomfort, because a long arm was suddenly reaching for the chair as well, and she gasped as their skin touched. _He was hot! Like, burning up_.

Without meaning to, she flinched back and away from his hot skin, ending up pressed against his front. She was very still for a second, and she felt his breath catch. "Uh, sorry." She whispered and slowly stepped forward again, under the guise of examining a bucket of pens spilled across one of the shelves.

"What's the plan?" Paul's voice was rough and she looked at him quickly. _Mistake_. He was looking at her, eyes gleaming with something she couldn't recognize. She cleared her throat, and looked down the long list.

"I think we should try and find everything on the list, and then wipe down the shelves, and then start putting it all back on." She said quietly. "is that okay?"

"Yeah!" his enthusiastic reply was unexpected, and loud in the small room, and she twitched as it hurt her sensitive head. "I mean, yeah," he lowered his volume, and Kitty sighed gratefully, "That sounds like a good plan."

She shot him a nervous look, "Did you want to start with finding all the notebooks, and I'll find all the pens and pencils." He nodded, and immediately grabbed a few notebooks he could see. Kitty swallowed and began gathering up the pens and pencils into the large white bucket. Time passed quickly – she liked organizing things normally, so this wasn't much of a punishment, more of a chore.

"Check!" Kitty said excitedly, as she checked off her third lot of items. "Done with all the different kinds of pens."

Paul watched her with an amused smirk playing on his lips. "You are getting _way_ too into organizing this." Kitty's face and gaze dropped. "But it's cute-" he began quickly, and Kitty looked up in shock, and he stopped himself. "I mean it's funny." He said roughly, and snatched the list from her, turning away quickly. Kitty lowered her gaze again, and moved away from his hulking form, picking up a bunch of paper from the floor. As she straightened – too quickly, her head throbbed so painfully that her vision went white.

She yelped, and began to fall backwards, balance skewed by the pain in her head.

Two hot, _hot_ hands secured her under her elbows, keeping her upright. Breathing slowly, Kitty looked up into Paul's worried face. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. Kitty was about to nod, when another wave of pain washed over her, and she shook her head. "Where does it hurt?" he sat her down in the chair, and crouched in front of her, clutching her hands in his large hot ones.

Kitty shook her head slightly. "My – ah! – my head… it's killing me." She gritted out, trying to stop the embarrassing tears from welling up in her eyes. Paul looked between her eyes frantically.

"Where's your pain meds?" Kitty would have asked how he knew that she had them, but instead just pointed to her bag in the corner of the room – too distracted by her pain. He darted over and pulled them out, spilling two into his palm, and handing them to her quickly. Then he made a growling noise, twisting his face in annoyance. "Sorry, I forgot – do you need water?"

He was halfway out of the room without waiting for an answer, when Kitty downed them. "I'm fine, thank you." She said, more than a little confused. _Why was he being so… nice?_

"Are you sure?" Paul hovered uncertainly above her.

She nodded, "Yes. I just need to sit for a second, then I can get back to work."

He shook his head violently. "Nuh uh. You are not moving from that chair." He said roughly, scowling at her. Kitty glared at him.

"Really? Now you're telling me what to do?" she snapped, unable to stop herself. She didn't understand why he just rubbed her the wrong way so much. Why was he so confusing? One second he was ready to snap her head off, then he was looking after her, and the next he was expecting her to just follow his instructions? What was his _deal?_

Paul looked taken aback for a second, before he narrowed his eyes and drew himself up to his full height, looming over her. "I. Said. Sit. _Down."_ He growled. Kitty instantly recoiled, ducking her gaze and trying to look like a smaller target. She heard him curse under his breath, and then he crouched down again. "Hey. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you-"

"Well you did! And you have done ever since we've met!" Kitty said, feeling attacked and defensive and irrationally angry. "I tripped and got a little bit of lasagne on the back of your head, and you were ready to _kill_ me! You were going to hit me – a stranger! And then you kept glaring at me all day, and then you almost smash me in the corridor at recess, and now you're trying to make me do what you want me to do – by _scaring_ me!"

Kitty _hated_ bullies. Her brother and her had been terribly bullied at their last school, both of them taken advantage of – after he had asked out the wrong girl, and she had played and humiliated him – pretending to like him, and then it went downhill from there. Topher had been picked for being too tall and too skinny and not smart enough. Kitty for being too small, and too weird looking and too shy. And it had been too easy to let it get into her head, and despite everything, despite fighting against the overwhelming fear of _everything_ that sometimes made her retreat far into herself – it was all too easy to let it overcome her.

At least – as Topher always said, when it got particularly dark inside Kitty's little bubble of sad – it never got physical. For her at least. Topher had been the victim of physical fights often. It had to have been one of the most terrifying times of Kitty's life – having to watch from the sidelines, unable to do anything, because Topher didn't want her being hurt. They couldn't tell their parents, couldn't tell anyone – they even had to avoid Alex in public, lest she be dragged into it.

"I hate bullies. And I hate people who think it's okay to take what they want, and do what they want without consequences or thought about others." Kitty told him defiantly, a rare courage filling her. "You're a womanizer and a bully – don't think I haven't heard exactly what you've done to people before me." She stood, and pushed past his frozen form. In her daze, she remembered to check the time. 5:32. Topher had sent a text saying that he and mom were waiting in the car.

She took a deep breath, and paused at the doorway, turning back to him; "You've hurt me, and I'm sick of being the poor little victimized new girl. I know I'm timid, and shy, and I let people walk all over me – but not you – because you're so much bigger than me, physically and socially, and you could squash me like a bug with one hand – so pick on someone your own size. I'm leaving now. _I don't want you to talk to me, or go near me ever again."_

With that, Kitty reached the end of her speech – and her bravery, and before Paul could do something – she didn't know what – she fled the tiny storeroom, moving as fast as her ribs would allow her. She felt guilty and frightened tears well up in her eyes.

Because, even despite her speech being deserved, she hated yelling at people.


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey, what's wrong, Kit-Kat?" Topher met her eyes in the rear-view mirror, frowning worriedly at her tears.

"No-nothing. I don't want to talk about it." She hiccupped quietly, wiping away her tears. Her mother looked at her over her shoulder.

"Baby, I'm always here for you to talk to, you know that."

Kitty smiled gratefully, but shook her head, "Really guys, it's nothing. I'll be fine by the time we get to Rosemary's."

"If you're sure, Kitty…" Topher said. Kitty nodded, pulling out a tissue and blotting her face.

* * *

Kitty rapped on Rosemary's door, and the woman answered immediately, smiling brightly. "Hello, Kitty! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Thanks, Rosemary. I'm sorry for not letting you know on Saturday…"

Rosemary waved her hands. "Totally understandable. Lucky for everyone, I actually got a surprise night off." Kitty smiled, guilt easing somewhat. "Now, Claire's just in her cot, she was napping, but you're here just in time for dinner – so if you're set, I'm going to head."

"I'm great, Rosemary! I'll see you later." With a last wave goodbye, Rosemary practically ran out the door. Kitty sighed, and shut the front door, but as she did so, a loud howl echoed out from the forest, chilling, and raising the hair on the back of Kitty's neck. She pursed her lips worriedly, and shut and locked the door, double checking the bolt.

There was a wail from Claire's room, and she hurried in, picking Claire up, wincing at the twinge from her ribs. What she really wanted was a heat pack... She sat Claire n her highchair and began rooting through various cupboards – but found none. "Crap." She pouted, turning to Claire and pulling a face that made the young girl giggle. Kitty's lips twitched up into a smile in response, and she strapped Claire in fully. "Dinner time, Claire-Bear?"

"Ibber ime?" Claire babbled, and Kitty laughed excitedly.

"Yes, dinner time!" she blew a raspberry on Claire's cheek. "You'll be talking early, Claire, I can just tell!" she moved slowly, cooking up some soft mincemeat and mashed potatoes for Claire, and feeding her, babbling back and forth. Claire was getting good at mimicking the sounds Kitty made, even if they weren't actual words yet.

Soon, Claire started getting agitated, and after changing her nappy, and trying to put her to bed, Kitty took her into the living room, and balanced her on her lap. "I think you need a song, hmm?"

" _Who doesn't know what I'm talking about_

 _Who's never left home, who's never struck out_

 _To find a dream and a life of their own_

 _A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone_

 _Many precede and many will follow_

 _A young girl's dreams no longer hollow_

 _It takes the shape of a place out west_

 _But what it holds for her, she hasn't yet guessed_

 _She needs wide open spaces_

 _Room to make her big mistakes_

 _She needs new faces_

 _She knows the high stakes…"_

Kitty stopped at Claire's blissed out face, and slowly blinking eyes. "Bed?"

"Ed?" Claire said lazily back, grinning her gummy smile. Kitty smiled back, and stood slowly, groaning at the pain in her ribs and head.

"Ah. Kitty needs bed as well, Claire-Bear."

She tucked Claire in and turned off the light, leaving the room silently.

She settled herself on the couch, and tried to breathe deeply and slowly, listening for noises in the other room.

Another howl echoed outside the house, and she flinched. It sounded close. She resisted the urge to get up to go close the curtains. It sounded again, low and mournful. She shivered.

* * *

Kitty pocketed the money from Rosemary, and stepped out into the chilly air. It was pitch black across the road, where the forest stretched further than she could see. She ignored the prickling feeling of being watched, and tried to hurry home _. It was paranoia, it had to be_. She rapped anxiously on her front door, feeling eyes on her despite the evident emptiness of the street. She shot a look behind her, at the forest that wrapped around her house. She froze as she saw two pinpricks of light, like eyes, focussed on her from a few feet behind the tree line.

Her door opened and she jumped. "Are you alright, sweetie?" her dad stood there, looking confusedly at her jumpy reaction.

She nodded, and pushed her way quickly inside, sighing with relief as the door shut. "Just tired, dad."

He nodded, frowning slightly, but pecked her cheek and let her slip past him. "Goodnight, sweetie. Sleep well."

Kitty turned to beam at him as she shut her bedroom door down the hall, smile dropping as soon as she was out of sight. She crossed to her glass doors, and drew the blinds quickly, glimpsing the two points of light again. She was beginning to regret choosing this room.

Kitty took a deep steadying breath. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and dug her fingers into her knees. "It's okay, Kitty. Just breathe and relax. Take your pills and then go to sleep, you can just have a shower in the morning." She murmured aloud.

She took three deep breaths, and hummed a senseless tune, trying to lower her heart rate. Satisfied that she wasn't going to panic unnecessarily, she flicked on her lamp, and she kicked off her shoes, and struggled with her jeans – finally peeling them off and flopping back unceremoniously into her pillows.

* * *

Paul was going to explode – her pain, her fear, her anger, her _words –_ they were bouncing around in his skull, and he'd never felt lower in his life.

Taking ten deep breaths, he placed his hands on his knees, trying to calm himself like Sam had taught him.

" _You were ready to kill me!"_

Paul whined, head whipping to the side – trying to banish the memory.

" _You're a womanizer and a bully…"_

He was shaking, he felt like his edges were blurring.

" _You've hurt me…"_

Paul whimpered, and before he changed in the tiny storeroom, he stumbled from the school, and into the trees, shivering and shuddering and then he split into his other self, unable to control himself anymore.

 _"I don't want you to talk to me, or go near me ever again…"_

 **Oh my god, Paul! What happened, what did you do?**

Jared's voice burst into his consciousness, but all he could was replay the conversation, replay her hurt and anger _at him,_ over and over. His anguish spilled over and he howled miserably and loudly, turning his face to heavens – trying to push out everything he was feeling.

 **I'm sure it'll blow over, Paul, just you wait and see-**

No. How the hell could this just _disappear_? I _hurt_ her, and now she never wants to see me again.

Paul cut off Jared's worried optimism, and let himself collapse onto the cool earth.

 _What's going on?! Paul, are you hurt? You- oh, no._

Sam caught up quickly, and instantly, he was transmitting sympathy and disapproval.

 _That was stupid, Paul. This won't be easy to forgive…_

Tell me something I don't fucking know.

Paul hissed angrily, feeling like his whole world was burning.

Why did I Imprint on her? She doesn't- she can't- she's just so-

 _Perfect. She's perfect for you, that's why. You have to know her, love her –_

I _know._ I do! That's the problem! She hates me now, and there's nothing I can do- she doesn't want me near her-

 **Do you want me to talk to her-?**

Paul's mind instantly supplied images of Jared and Katelyn together, and then _together._ He snarled, and Jared mentally recoiled.

 **No! no! God, no! I would never- and I have Kim…**

The connection was flooded with images of the shy girl, pushing her glasses up, smiling, writing, laughing, flipping her hair back-

Cut it out.

 **Sorry.**

Sam? Please… I don't know what to do… I feel like I'm dying… she hates me…

Paul hated this. He knew that there was no rational reason to be feeling like his insides were being twisted over some stranger of a girl, but his wolf, and his _soul_ – they were screaming for her… it was terrifying. He wanted her, to love her, for her to love him.

 _I'm sorry, Paul. I'm not- I'm not actually sure. You know how long it took Emily to forgive me… but this is different. You've mentally and emotionally hurt her._

 **Give her time.**

 _Yeah. That's the best I got._

But I _need_ her…

 _Then just go and run patrol around her house – but for god sake, don't scare her!_

She can't see me-

Paul was already sprinting hard after the sweet scent of Katelyn. Of his Imprint

I don't want her to get even more upset-

 _Okay! Just do what you want, but just be back home at a reasonable hour – your mom is already suspicious-_

Yeah, whatever.

Paul watched anxiously as she walked home alone, shivering slightly, and fighting the urge to approach her and comfort her, keep her safe and warm. _No_. He needed to stay back.

Then she turned and looked right into his eyes. He shrunk back further, but found himself getting lost in her light green eyes, so expressive, unlike the first time he had really _seen_ her.

That had been the scariest moment of his life.

She had been slipping into unconsciousness when he and Jared had made it back into the clearing, after hunting down that bloodsucker, and at first all that had registered when he recognized her, was guilt for his outburst right before he had changed. Then he had made it to her side at Sam's silent request, and had lifted her slightly, to check she was still breathing, and her unfocussed eyes had met his, and he had been lost.

It had been so terrifying to feel himself losing his grip on _everything_ , to be drifting, and then all of a sudden, he had been locked to her – and he had felt an unexplainable connection to the unconscious girl he was supporting, and then fear came crashing down onto him as he realized that she wasn't moving – and that she had almost just been killed – and _oh god what if she died now?_ – _where was the closest hospital – why was she so limp_ , so light in his arms as he ran faster than he ever had – Jared shouting after him…

He whimpered, remembering the horrifying ordeal.

The snap of her blinds closing made him refocus, and then her lamp flicked on, and her silhouette was projected on the glowing blinds. He watched her until her light flicked off, and he was left in darkness again, his heart aching for a girl that would never want him.


	10. Chapter 10

Kitty woke up, after the worst night of her life – she had been tossing and turning – pain from her head and ribs plaguing her, as well as disturbing visions of red eyed men, and giant wolves, yelping in pain as they died.

She swallowed two of her pills dry, and got in the shower, hoping the cold would soothe her head, despite the ache in her ribs, as the cold made her shake. She could tell that her head was getting better, and she was thankful for that much – so she just hoped the cold water would be enough to speed it along.

But god, she hated the cold.

* * *

Kitty walked into school uneasily, unsure whether she really wanted to face Paul, after yesterday's outburst. But she knew, no matter what, that she'd see him to do the stupid detention for Jameson.

She had English with him third period, and science fourth, but strangely enough he wasn't there.

Kitty allowed herself a private smile when she considered that she had maybe scared the big, bad Paul off. Then she felt instantly guilty, because that was the exact behaviour she condemned him for.

Finally, she shuffled into Jameson's classroom, but he just waved her off. "Mr. Lahote came in at recess and lunch to finish it – I'm satisfied. You go on now."

Kitty frowned as she left the school grounds, flagging down Topher before he drove off – he really did need to slow down, considering he still wasn't getting his licence for another six months at least. On the trip home, she made him turn up the heater – hoping she wasn't getting sick – as a chill started in her stomach.

* * *

Kitty picked up her ringing phone. "Hello?" she chirped, wrapping her duvet closer around her, and willing her teeth not to chatter. It was _freezing_ in her room – and she felt like an icicle.

" _Hey, Kitty! What're you up to on Saturday night?"_

Kitty smiled at Kim's eager voice. "Well, Rosemary said she only needed me Friday night this week, so… nothing!"

Kim squealed excitedly. " _Ohmigod! That's so great! Jared invited me to this tribal bonfire thingy as his **date**. It's with a bunch of other kids and their families, kind of a ritual really – but I figure that I may as well invite you and Topher, considering you guys are new and have never been to one. I mean I expect there'll be food, but I'm not sure – wait you guys aren't vegetarians or anything-"_

"Kimmy! It sounds great!" Kitty laughed. "I'll totally come, and I'll make sure Topher comes too! But first, you have to tell me _everything_ that Jared said, and _how_ he said it!"

Kim gave a little squeal of joy and launched into her story. Kitty smiled softly, and tugged Alex's stolen beanie further down over her head.

* * *

Kitty didn't see Paul the whole week, and even though she was glad – some strange part of her was worried. What if he was sick again, like had been before? What if he was _really_ bad, now? And the last thing she'd ever say to him was that angry rant.

Kitty bit her thumb anxiously, staring sightlessly into the forest outside her window. The sun was soon to set, and Kim was coming with Jared to pick her and Topher up. She _was_ getting pumped for the bonfire though.

Apparently, there was going to be a separate bonfire away from the main one for all the high school kids that were coming, and that was where she and Kim were going to 'hang' as Kim put it. It was kind of Kitty's first party thing, so she had tried a little with her general appearance – even though she had to take into account the ridiculous chill she was suffering from.

She had a pair of skinny jeans that she had managed to wear on top of woolly stockings, plus an extra pair of hideous yellow knitted socks, which peeked out over her boots. She layered two shirts under a cream sweater, putting on her greenish jacket with its hood. Then, she wrapped her ridiculous scarf around her neck, pulled on some gloves and picked up the beanie she'd stolen from Alex at the start of the week.

She stared at herself in the mirror – noticing that whatever sickness she had, had completely washed her out. She looked like a ghost. Frowning, she retrieved her tiny supply of makeup, and applied some blush to her pale cheeks and pink lipstick to her chapped, almost blue looking lips. She had dark circles under her eyes as well, and patted on some concealer. It didn't do much – and if anything, drew more attention to them. To try and distract from the bruise-like circles, she brushed on some mascara.

She didn't really look like herself – but she also didn't really look like herself when she was without it.

"Why are you wearing makeup?" Topher's voice from her doorway made her turn to face his narrowed eyed gaze, "Are you meeting someone there?"

Kitty pouted. "Is it really noticeable? I just wanted to hide my bags." She turned to the mirror, ready to wipe it off, but Topher hurried across and stayed her hand.

"No! You look great – I was just wondering. It's just a change. But not a bad one." He smiled earnestly, and Kitty beamed back, as a horn sounded. They both perked up. "Kim! Jared!" Topher cried, running excitedly for the door.

Kitty giggled, and followed at a steadier pace.

"Have fun, guys!" She waved at her mom and dad poking their heads out from the kitchen, "be back home before 1:00!"

Kitty laughed, "I doubt we'll be out that late!

Alex put her head over the staircase balustrade, and shot Kitty a glare. "I know that's my beanie, and also don't think I'm not mad that I wasn't invited."

Kitty shot her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Alex… I'm pretty sure it's a senior student thing…"

Alex sighed. "Whatever, I'm used to being left out by you anyway." With a slam – she re-entered her room. Kitty couldn't help but feel guilty. Back in Colorado, Topher and Kitty had been forced to essentially pretend like they didn't know their younger sister – because they had been so afraid that Alex would be dragged into the bullying. And the rift still showed. Kitty had to try harder, be better for her sister.

* * *

When she opened the car door, she made direct eyecontact with Jared, who was looking part-amused and part-exhausted. Kim was bouncing excitedly in the passenger seat, Topher mirroring her actions in the seat directly behind her.

"Come on, Kitty!" they chorused, and Jared chuckled.

"Yeah, come on, Kitty. They're about to break my car!" Kitty stuck her tongue out at Jared jokingly, and swung the car door shut. "Geeze, Kitty, do you have enough layers?" Jared raised his eyebrows at her in the mirror.

"Shush." Kitty scowled playfully, "I get cold – and it gets cold at night! Especially on the beach!"

"Okay, okay!" Jared threw a hand up, "So you'll just have to find someone to keep you warm…" he winked, and Kim and Topher _'oooooohed_!' loudly, making Kitty roll her eyes and look out the window.

"You guys are all ridiculous."

* * *

Jared and Kim flanked her and Topher as they made their way over to the circle of adults, elders and young children. Looking at some of the younger teens, Kitty felt another stab of guilt for leaving Alex alone. Kitty looked about for Rosemary or Claire but noticed immediately that they were curiously absent. Jared looped his arm around Topher's shoulders as they reached two men, who seemed to be the leaders – standing together, almost like an epicentre for the action around them. One was older, russet skin lightly lined with age and wisdom. He was sitting in a wheelchair – and Kitty had no idea how he managed to get onto the beach. The other was a young man who had the same look as Jared and Paul – tall, muscled, but he had a stern gaze as he examined both Topher and Kitty intently. She watched something flicker in his eyes as he looked her over, and finally, he leaned down and muttered in the man's ear – and his face lit up.

He reached out and grasped Kitty's hands tightly. "It's good to finally see you down with us, Katelyn." Kitty was surprised at the strength and warmth of his grip. But she smiled slightly uneasily at his words. He must have seen her confusion, because he patted her hand. "My name is Billy Black. I'm guessing you don't know a lot about our tribe…" he shot the man beside him a look, and the man cleared his throat uncomfortably. Billy released her hands, and held out a hand for Topher to shake. "You must be her brother."

"Yes, Mr. Black. My name's Topher." Topher smiled easily, shaking Billy's hand. Something in Billy's eye twinkled – and Topher's eyes widened minutely.

Billy chuckled. "Call me Billy, please – both of you. You're practically family now." At Topher and Kitty's exchanged looks, he laughed. "As a part of coming to live on our reservation, of course." He cleared his throat, looking around for someone. "You have a younger sister, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes, we do – Alexandra – she was sad she wasn't allowed tonight." Kitty supplied.

Billy frowned. "Oh, make sure to invite her along next time – I get the feeling we'll be very close with the Faye family soon." Kitty grinned at the welcome, and stepped back so that Jared and Kim could greet the man, obviously familiar with him. The tall man beside him stepped towards her and Topher.

"Hello, Katelyn and Topher. My name's Sam." His voice was deep, and his eyes warm but stern. Kitty shook his hand, and frowned slightly as she realized he looked somewhat familiar.

"Wait!" Kitty cried, as she finally placed him. She coloured as they all looked at her sharply. "You were there at the school – when Paul almost exploded…" she finished quietly, looking down. "I thought you were a student…"

Sam grunted a laugh. "Good memory. Well, you four can head over to the other bonfire – I think that Kitty needs to see someone." He looked at Jared meaningfully. Kitty frowned – he had glossed over _that_ interaction quickly – _and what did he mean, she needed to see someone?_

Jared nodded determinedly. "Yeah, sounds good. Kim, T, Kitty?" in one swift, deft movement, he sort of scooped them all together with his long arms, and turned with them, and gave them a little push towards the bonfire. Kitty shot a look back at Sam and Billy under Jared's arm, and found them watching her. She shivered slightly at the strength of their gazes, and let herself be swept up by Jared and Topher.

* * *

She had been right, she was freezing. She wrapped her arms around herself, as Jared and Topher left Kim and her on a large chunk of driftwood that had been pulled closer to the fire.

Kim cleared her throat. "So… how are you, Kitty?" she was looking at Kitty with that same strange look that she'd been wearing since Monday. Like she was expecting Kitty to keel over, and not because of her ribs.

"Again. I'm fine except for my ribs." Kitty answered slightly tiredly. "I don't get why you keep asking – is everything okay?" she eyed Kim suspiciously. "is something wrong with _you?_ _You_ have been acting weird since Monday."

Kim laughed – and looked nervously over at where Jared was laughing with a group of his and Topher's friends. "What? Me? No, no, no. I'm really… great!"

Kitty narrowed her eyes. "Did something happen with Jared?" She gasped. "Oh my god! Did _something_ happen _with_ Jared?!" Kim looked at her in confusion, and then horror dawned slowly on her as she realized what Kitty meant. Kitty waggled her eyebrows.

Kim shook her head violently. "Oh god! No! Bad Kitty! Bad!" she hit Kitty on the shoulder, and glared at her laughing friend. "No. Nothing like that. Just…" she shook her head. "Just some stuff. Like tribal stuff."

Kitty sobered. "Oh, right." She shivered again. "God it is _freezing!"_ Kim looked at her oddly, and put a hand on Kitty's forehead.

"Are you running a temperature? Because it's only like 66 degrees." Kim's hand made its way down Kitty's face, and then touched her neck, and she pulled off one of Kitty's gloves, and touched her hand. Her eyes widened in concern. "Oh my god! Kitty you're _freezing_! You feel like ice!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Kitty laughed, even as her teeth started chattering, "I swear it feels like 37 degrees. I've been getting so cold all week, it's weird."

"What do you mean?" Kim asked slowly. Kitty moved closer to Kim automatically, and Kim wrapped an arm around her, trying to warm the girl.

"Well, especially at night. I can't stop shivering, no matter how many blankets or layers or how high the heating is. But I just feel cold, like all the time – sort of like its inside me? It's weird – but it only started this week." Kitty shivered violently again. She really didn't understand what was happening to her – she'd been feeling sickly all week, and it was getting worse the longer she was sitting on the damn log. The fire was doing nothing to help her.

Kim hummed worriedly, and rubbed her arm. "That's awful. Um, I'm just going to talk to Jared for one second – so I'll uh, I'll be right back. I'll find you something to keep you warm, okay? Just don't move from the fire."

Kitty nodded, and hugged herself tightly. The sun was just setting, and she could feel the shivers that plagued her at night starting to creep up on her.


	11. Chapter 11

Kim tapped Jared on the arm. He turned instantly, knowing exactly who she was. Pulling him down to her height, she whispered in her ear. "It's been affecting Kitty too; she just doesn't know it."

Jared pulled back, a surprised look on his face. "Is she okay?" Kim shrugged.

"I'm not sure how much longer she _will_ be okay. She's shivering even now." Jared looked over with Kim, to where the rugged up girl could be seen shaking slightly. "She needs him, and I _know_ he needs her."

Jared frowned. "He's being stubborn. Says that he knows she won't want to see him." Kim scowled, and pouted.

"Just tell him that she needs him! That it's hurting her too, but that she doesn't know it!" Kim said, resisting the urge to stomp her foot like a child. _The pair of them!_ She understood Kitty's aversion, considering the ass Paul had made of himself, but how didn't she notice something was wrong?

Jared threw his hands up, sensing her agitation. "Okay! I'll go tell him." Kim smiled, and stretched up to peck him quickly on the lips. Jared sighed blissfully, before jogging off to wherever Paul was skulking.

* * *

Paul could hear Jared long before he actually made it to where he was sitting. The bonfire was quite a way away from where he'd decided to sit, not trusting himself around everyone.

Around _her._

He could smell her the second she had stepped onto the beach. Sweet, like those orange blossom flowers he'd smelt once on an excursion to an orchard. He could hear her laughter as she talked with Kim, he was attuned to her every movement. It was painful, but he'd tuned her out, and focussed his attention on the salt and sand. But she was so close, for the first time in a week.

"Hey, man." Jared clapped him on his tense shoulder, and squatted beside him. "How're you feeling?"

Paul shot him a look, that if he was at his full strength, would've been intimidating – but as he was now, it was kind of pathetic. "How do you think?" he said, voice rough from disuse.

Jared nodded awkwardly. "Listen, she needs you, dude."

Paul laughed bitterly. "No. She told me to stay away-"

"And look how well that's going." Jared said sarcastically. "You're sick, and she's hurting too, she just doesn't know why."

Paul was on his feet before he could stop himself, and almost fell back down at the wave of dizziness that washed over him. Jared put a steadying hand on his back. Paul shook him off, "I'm fine. I'm okay." He took a slow breath. "She's hurting?" he asked softly. Jared looked at him sympathetically, patting his arm gently.

"Yeah, man. She's cold, like, _all_ the time – but internally or something. She needs you. She just doesn't know it."

Paul clenched his jaw. "What if she tells me to go again?"

"Don't. Stand your ground. Tell her or something – I don't know. But stop torturing yourself, man, you're torturing us too." Jared gave him a little push towards the bonfire, and Paul took a few uncertain steps, before he calmed himself. His _Imprint_ needed him now. He needed her.

* * *

"Hey."

The deep hoarse voice startled her, and Kitty looked up from the flames, and the shallow _freezing_ pit of self-pity she was wallowing in, and found herself looking a Paul.

A seriously half-dead looking Paul.

Kitty's eyes widened as they took in his appearance. He looked like he was struggling to keep his large form upright, and he looked almost too thin compared to her last memory of him. His russet skin, usually so beautiful looking, was looking oddly pale, and his face was sallow and gaunt. Even his eyes looked dead.

"A-are you okay?" she asked him softly, concern getting the better of her. "I think you should sit down before you keel over." She added quietly.

He looked at her thankfully and took a seat next to her, but she could see how careful he was not to touch her. Almost instantly, she felt the oddest surge inside of her, to reach out and _touch_ -

 _No. What?_

Kitty frowned at herself, even as a wave of violent shivers made her teeth clack together painfully.

"Shit. Katelyn, are you-" Paul's weak voice made her try and stop, tensing her muscles to the point of pain, making her ribs scream in protest.

"I'm o-o-okay. I'm fine. J-j-just a bit cold." She chattered out. Paul was watching her with so much concern in his eyes that she felt almost guilty. "But seriously. What happened to you? We-w-were you sick?"

Paul chuckled slightly. "Yeah, you could say that-" her next round of shivers broke him off. "Okay, come here."

Before Kitty could move of protest, he had scooped her into his side. As if a wave of warmth had rolled over her, Kitty felt her whole body settle. Without meaning, she leaned into him, seeking the strange heat that he emitted. His arm tightened around her shoulders.

Paul felt every ache, every pain just abate as she moved closer to him.

Kitty felt his whole body relax as he breathed deeply. Gently, she decided it would be safe to rest her head on the side of his chest as she basked in his warmth. She could hear his heart beating if she pressed her ear against him. It was racing.

Frowning, Kitty looked up, blushing as she realized he was looking down at her, a soft look in his eyes that she'd never seen.

He also looked, well, _better._

His skin tone looked healthy and almost glowing again, and even his slightly sunken cheeks looked more filled out. His eyes were sparkling with something like joy.

Kitty realized she had been staring too long when a slow smirk spread across his lips. She ducked her head, blushing. "Thanks." She said quietly, looking into the fire.

"For what?" he said, voice low and vibrating in his chest.

"Warming me up." She smiled, even if he couldn't see it. Maybe her words _had_ influenced him? "Why were you so sick this _whole_ week?"

He sighed, chest expanding and moving Kitty with it. "I wasn't sick for the whole week; it was also because I had some other stuff going on as well."

"Mmm?" Kitty hummed curiously, before she blushed. "Wait, no, I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me…"

"Don't apologize, Katelyn." He said firmly. Kitty remembered the last time he'd said that and shivered slightly. He tugged her even closer, so that she was pressed up against his side completely. "I, ah, I just realized that I had said and done some terrible things, to this really sweet girl." Kitty froze. Her eyes darted around nervously, as she processed what he'd said. He had stilled as well. "And I was spending time wondering how I was supposed to make it up to her – to get her to forgive me."

Kitty hardly dared to breathe. "And… how are you going to do that? To this girl, I mean…"

"I thought I'd start with apologizing, and then maybe taking her to this _really_ nice hot chocolate place." Paul said lightly, but as he pulled back from her, Kitty was surprised at the amount of remorse in his eyes. "So… um, Katelyn. I know I've done some terrible things to you, and I know how hard it'll be for you to ever trust me again, or even forgive me, but I just want you to know that I regret everything I've done and if I could go back in time, I would do anything to stop myself, and I want to be your-" he paused for a second. "Your friend. I want to be your friend. If you'll have me."

Katelyn regarded him. She could see how earnest he was, and she knew that he really must have thought hard about what he wanted to say.

She _did_ believe in second chances.

"Call me Kitty. All my friends do."

His answering smile was arguably brighter than the fire they sat next to.

Kitty had once promised herself to not be stepped all over – and so, knowing that the little pit of fear in her couldn't just fade away with one apology, she knew she had to tell him. "But do know that it'll take a little for me to totally trust you, okay?" His smiled dimmed a little, but he still nodded.

"Sure. Anything." He jumped up, startling her a little with the sudden fluid movement. "Come on." He extended his hand, and Kitty eyed it warily.

"Where…?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Paul rolled his eyes.

"To the chocolate place. Come on, let's get out of here." He wriggled his fingers and eyebrows, making Kitty giggle. She placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her up gently. His hand was unnervingly hot again, but she didn't flinch, even as some strange shock passed between their skin.

From his wide eyed look at their hands, she guessed he'd felt it as well.


	12. Chapter 12

Kitty bounced slightly in the seat of Paul's navy-blue Toyota pickup truck. She couldn't deny it – this was probably the 'riskiest' thing she'd ever done – snuck out of a party with a near stranger and was going god-knew-where without telling her brother.

But there was chocolate involved. And she was a sucker for chocolate.

She smiled warmly at Paul as he got in, shutting the door with a slam. He rubbed his hands together and looked at her. "Are you cold?"`

"A little, but not as bad as before – you really did the trick. With your crazy body heat." Kitty said laughingly. Paul grinned back, but she saw a flicker of nervousness before he turned away, starting the truck. She tilted her head in curiosity, but before she could peruse it – he turned on the engine.

"Yep… I do run quite hot." He said, pulling out of the beach parking lot, "If I do say so myself." He winked at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Are you always this modest?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. He laughed.

"Always."

* * *

Paul waved at a passing waitress, and she bounced over with a smile. "Hiya! How can I help you guys?"

"Can we get a booth for two?" Paul asked, fingers twitching slightly as Kitty brushed against him as she looked into the café.

"Sure can! Follow me." She bustled in, and pointed to a small red wallpapered booth, and Paul let Kitty go ahead of him. "I'll be over to take your order in a little bit." She winked at him, and Paul just smiled uneasily. Old him would've been all over the curvaceous waitress, as she looked his age. But new him, with the ultimate goal of the girl already sitting in booth – bright green eyes taking in everything with adorable interest, just brushed past her.

He frowned as he realized that it would be tricky to swing his long legs under the small table. Kitty met his eyes, then followed his look to the small space under the table. Her eyes widened, then she burst out into giggles, covering her mouth. Despite the situation, Paul struggled to keep his annoyed scowl at the charming sight. If a little bit of embarrassment made her happy, then he'd be dammed if he was to stop her.

He grunted slightly as he slid in, scooting around to the end of table for more room. Kitty was biting her lip to stop a smile, but was failing. "Oh yeah, let's all laugh at the tall one struggling to fit in fairy sized tables." Kitty snorted, then looked almost surprised at herself, which made Paul chuckle. "What did you want to order? I'm paying."

"Oh no! I'll pay!" Kitty said, looking at him pleadingly. He shook his head.

"Hell no. My treat. Seriously." He shook his head firmly. "Too bad, so sad, Kitty." A thrill went through him as he said her name. _God he was such a sucker._

She sighed, but he knew that he'd already won. "Fine, fine. But next time, I'm paying." Paul grinned. _Already planning a next time?_ She looked back at him, smiling softly. He could hear her heart beating, slowly speeding up.

"So, what can I get y'all?"

Paul snapped out of whatever trance her eyes had pulled him into, and almost growled at the waitress, but retrained himself. Kitty would not appreciate it. "Uh, can we get 4 of the fudge sundaes, and two of the hot chocolates, and two brownies."

Kitty looked at him sharply, but didn't say anything. The waitress raised her eyebrows, but nodded. "Sure thing, I'll be right back with your food."

She left again, swinging her hips deliberately. Paul looked at Kitty, who was watching him already. "That's… a lot of food." Her eyes were wide.

Paul resisted the urge to laugh. That was barely anything compared to what he usually ate. "Yeah, it's a little bit." Then something occurred to him. "I hope you didn't mind me ordering for you."

Kitty shook her head smiling. "Nah, its fine. I trust you to make good decisions. But I'll have to order for you some time."

Paul nodded easily, and let himself relax into the cushions, casually slinging his arm up along the back of the booth couch behind her head.

* * *

Kitty watched with wide eyes as the waitress began unloading their food. The brownies looked as big as her face. The sundaes were huge as well, the hot chocolates the only thing that was normally proportioned.

"I am going to die. I am going to fall into a food coma and die." Kitty said frankly, watching as Paul grabbed two of the sundaes. He grinned, already slurping noisily at the syrup and ice-cream.

"You'll die happy." He said smiling blissfully. Kitty laughed quietly, and cut off a corner of the brownie to eat. Paul finished his sundaes in record time, and just about swallowed the brownie whole.

"You can't be serious!" Kitty gaped, as he took her offered half brownie. "How are you not full?"

Paul barked a laugh. "I have, like, a bottomless pit instead of a stomach. I could eat everything here and still be hungry." Wide eyed, Kitty pushed him her other sundae, and her half-finished one, and sat back, sipping her hot chocolate. "You sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm cool. You go for it, bottomless." He chuckled, and she sighed as she felt her phone vibrate for the third time. "Hey, do you mind if I call Topher back?" he nodded easily, and she pulled out her phone and answered her brother.

" _Kitty! Thank god! Are you okay? Someone said they saw you leaving with Paul. Did he kidnap you? Are you okay?"_ Kitty winced at her brother's anxious voice.

"Hey! Calm down, Toph. I'm fine. He just took me to get something to eat."

 _"Are you sure he's not holding you against your will? You hated him last time I checked."_

Kitty coloured, even though Paul couldn't possibly hear his voice. She stood up and walked a few paces away, "I never hated him." She whispered, turning away from Paul, "I just disliked him, and was a bit scared of him, that's all. Don't worry. He apologized and I'm letting him make it up to me. We're friends now."

" _Mmmhmm_." The disbelieving hum made Kitty roll her eyes.

"Toph, I promise you, I'm fine. I'll be back home at like 12:30. It's only 11:00." She hung up, and turned back to Paul smiling apologetically. He was watching her with an unreadable expression, and her face fell slightly. She couldn't hear her right? _Impossible_.


	13. Chapter 13

Paul was quieter on the drive back, and although it was odd, Kitty found herself thankful for the break in animated conversation.

She was tired – she hadn't slept well all week, and although she was strangely relaxed now, she still appreciated the quiet.

She was so relaxed, she didn't even think to ask him how he knew her address, but as she lay in bed after bidding her parents goodnight, she realized how weird it was.

She fell asleep before she had any other thoughts.

* * *

She spent the rest of the weekend retuning, and reuniting with her old guitar. It really had been ages. She tried composing and when nothing sounded right, she gave up – sticking to renditions of other songs.

It was Monday again, sooner than she had thought, and for once – she realized she wasn't dreading the thought of school. In fact, the thought of Paul put an odd little smile on her face she wasn't aware of until Topher pointed it out;

"Whatcha thinkin' bout?" He asked cheekily, leaning into the backseat as their mother drove them to school.

Kitty jumped, drawn out of her head abruptly. "Wh-what? Nothing!" she said too quickly. He raised an eyebrow.

"Is it that Justin boy?" he questioned knowingly. She furrowed her brows.

"What?" she asked, genuinely confused. She barely knew Justin Hailey. Sure, she had met his father at a bake stall, and spoken to him a few times around school – but nothing had progressed from that.

He looked just as confused. "Don't you know?" he laughed. "He has a crush on you! It's so obvious. Cute really."

"Who has a crush on Kitty?" Their mother asked sharply, not taking her eyes off the road, but pinching Topher to get his attention.

"Ow!" he rubbed his elbow, looking at her reproachfully. "Justin Hailey. He's a year younger."

"Oh. That's alright then."

For some reason, Kitty was vaguely offended. "What do you mean 'that's alright'? Do you think just because he's a year younger I wouldn't like him? Do you think he's immature or something?"

"No." her mother said, sounding affronted. "Well…"

"Hey!" Alex snapped, joining the conversation for the first time.

"MOM!" Kitty yelled in outrage. "That's so mean – and overprotective!"

"Oh, baby. I just don't want you to get hurt." Her mother said, shooting her what was meant to be a comforting smile in the rear-view mirror. "You're just too nice! Boys would just walk all over you." She said. Kitty knew she wasn't trying to hurt her, but the words stung anyway.

She huffed, and sat back, crossing her arms. Topher seemed to get that any further involvement from him wouldn't be appreciated and faced the front again.

* * *

As Kitty walked into school, she made up her mind. She would give Justin a chance – if what Topher had said was true.

She wanted to show her mother that she could handle herself. Justin was a year younger, but he seemed nice enough – and _mature_ enough, whenever they had spoken. He had a bit of a reputation, but her of all people knew not to believe the rumour mill without knowing herself. And besides – boys weren't exactly falling over themselves to date her. She couldn't remember the last time _anyone_ had liked her, let alone had a crush on her.

She knew where his locker was, and luckily for her, had her first class near it.

He was leaning against his locker talking to a tall girl when she walked by. He happened to look up, and they made eye contact. He gave a bright smile, and almost shoved the girl off.

"Hey there." He said casually. She smiled up at him, and tucked some hair behind her ears.

"Hi." She said simply. She took up the spot that the girl had just been in, and looked after her retreating form with a little concern. "What were you two just chatting about?" she asked.

He grinned, leaning over her a bit more. He was only a little taller than her – and although she was short, he was acting as if he was Paul's height or something.

 _God. Stop thinking about Paul._

She realized he had said something, and shook her head slightly. "Sorry, what did you just say?"

He laughed. "It's cool. I was just saying that we were talking about this English project. Really stumping me."

She brightened, seizing the chance. "Oh yeah? Well, I like English. I could always help you out." She said encouragingly, trying to do an inviting smile. He looked at her oddly for a second, and she stopped, watching in frustration as his expression cleared. Damn – she was hopeless at this flirting thing.

"That would be so great. Did you want to go see a movie while we're at it?" He asked, winking.

She grinned. "At the same time?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe two separate dates." He said suggestively, biting his lip. Kitty inwardly cheered.

 _Hah. Take that mom. He's actually nice._

"That sounds good to me. We can do the English tonight, and maybe go see a movie on Saturday?" she said. He nodded as the bell rang.

"Great. I'll give you a lift to yours after school. See ya." He was gone quickly, blending into the other students streaming down the corridors. She nodded to herself. _Yes. She was being brave – she was making the moves_. She headed for her own English class, slinking in as she realized Mr. Jameson wasn't there yet.

Paul was already there, and perked up as he saw her. She smiled slightly at him, and slid into the seat next to him.

"Hey, Kitty. How was the rest of your weekend?" he asked politely, but with an interest and a beaming smile that made it all the sweeter.

 _Sweeter?_

Kitty banished the thought, and smiled at him with the same fervour. "Great thanks! How about you?"

"Not as great as our chocolate party, but still pretty good." He cocked his head, frowning slightly. "Were you just with that Justin kid?"

Kitty's brow creased. "Uh, yeah. How did you know? Stalking me now?" she asked laughingly.

His eyes darkened slightly, but his smile was still in place, if a bit forced. "You smell like that cologne he drowns himself in."

Kitty giggled, and as Jameson entered sniffed herself surreptitiously. She couldn't smell anything except her favourite orange body cream she always wore. She frowned but ignored it.


	14. Chapter 14

Kitty followed Paul to the cafeteria after English, and sat next to him and Topher – who gave Paul an odd glare.

Jared nodded at Paul and smiled at her, arm around Kim, who looked at peace. Kitty grinned at her food. To think – one minute Jared didn't even know Kim's name, and the next, they were like an old married couple.

She frowned suddenly.

It was quite weird – now that she actually thought about it.

"Yo! Kitty!" she looked up at the call of her name, and saw Justin smirking at her. Both Topher and Paul tensed on either side of her, and she rolled her eyes at them.

"Hey, Justin!" she called back, giving him a little wave.

"Come over here, meet the boys." He said, indicating a few of his friends, some of which she recognised from her own classes.

She looked at her friends, and decided that they would be fine without her. She stood, "I'll be back in a sec." she manoeuvred her way out from in between Paul and Topher's unmoving forms. Justin shuffled over as she approached, and she settled next to him, and he placed a hand around her to sit on her hip, uncomfortably close to her ass. She twitched slightly, but said nothing.

"Guys, this is Kitty." She smiled as they nodded and leered slightly. "Kitty, these are the guys." Justin said to snickering laughter. She frowned slightly, but laughed along.

"So, _Kitty._ " A boy with hair tied back in a low ponytail said her name condescendingly. "You coming to the party this Saturday?"

She looked at Justin, and opened her mouth to tell them about their plans. Justin beat her to it. "Actually, yeah. We were going to see a movie-" there was a chorus of _'ooohs'_ and he rolled his eyes, "But we could stop by." The boy who had spoken shot Justin a meaningful look, and looked between Kitty and Justin. Once again, Kitty found herself at a loss for what was happening.

"Cool." He said finally, and chatter resumed, completely ignoring her. She bit her lips slightly, at the obvious dismissal, and made to leave. Justin's hand tightened, and she looked at him. He was smiling.

"Stay here, babe." He said. She nodded, and settled back down, expecting him to talk to her. But he didn't. She sat there for the rest of lunch, shooting longing looks at her friends. Paul had his head down, and he was gripping the table tightly, broad shoulders tense. Topher was looking at him with a weirded out look on his face, and it looked like Jared was saying something, brow furrowed furiously. None of them saw her looking.

She sighed, and looked out at the green of the forest, just outside the school boundary.

* * *

The end of the day couldn't have come fast enough, and she found herself back at her locker after the last bell – just staring blankly at her books – exhausted. Kitty didn't like negativity, and she hated to think the worst of people, but she really didn't like Justin's friends.

At least Justin himself was nice on his own.

"Hey, Kitty!"

She turned at Justin's voice and smiled – expression falling slightly as she noticed he was surrounded by his friends. _Surely, he wasn't going to bring them as well._ One of them seemed to notice her change in expression.

"What's wrong with you, LPF? Got a problem with me and my boys?" he yelled, catching the attention of the stragglers. Kitty flushed, and ducked her head, shaking it. "No? Then what's the look for, huh?"

"Maybe it's because of that atrocious belt." A low voice was suddenly at her side, and she started, jumping as Paul seemingly materialised out of thin air. He raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Why don't you run along now and find the receipt."

The boy scowled, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it, and nudged Justin – whispering something, before skulking off with the others.

Paul turned to Kitty. "You alright?"

"Yeah, she's cool." Justin spoke for her, winding an arm around her waist.

"I wasn't asking you, doucheface." Paul scowled, and moved forward slightly.

Kitty touched his arm gently, the weird heat startling her again – but Paul looked at her, eyes wide in surprise, and something else she couldn't pin down. "I'm fine." Justin suddenly tugged her, and she went stumbling with him – and looked back at Paul sheepishly. "See you tomorrow, Paul!"

Just before they rounded the corner, Paul's face darkened, making Kitty frown as she faced the front again.

 _Paul was odd._

* * *

"Please, please, please!" Justin begged, making Kitty shift uncomfortably. "I seriously don't get it… if I could just look at yours from when you did it last year, then I could get some ideas."

Kitty sighed, deliberating. They really hadn't gotten anywhere and they'd been in the library for ages now. "Okay." She said finally. "I'll send you it tonight."

"Oh, thank god." Justin slumped in his seat. "Thanks for your help – and it's been really fun, but do you mind if I head – I gotta meet some people." He was already rising from his seat – bag already packed.

"Uh-" Kitty began, but he was already waving goodbye as he hurried from the library. "You're my ride…" She finished quietly, slumping back in her seat. She sighed, and started packing up her things, and the rubbish Justin had left behind.

* * *

Kitty pushed open the front doors of the school, and felt her jaw drop in dismay.

It was pouring rain, and freezing to boot.

And she hadn't brought her rain coat because she had thought that she would be getting a lift home.

She pulled out her phone, and tried to turn it on. The low power sign flashed at her before the screen went black again. Resigned to her fate, she sighed, turning her face to the sky and giving it a violent scowl.

With one last longing look at the warmth of the school behind her, she took a deep breath and stepped forward into the weather.

* * *

Paul couldn't ignore the chill that was creeping up on him – and a distant feeling of discomfort. It didn't take him long to realize that it wasn't his imagination – and that something was wrong with his Imprint.

He was up and halfway out of the house before his thoughts properly caught up with him. He cursed at his stupidity and stomped back inside to grab his phone and his car keys.

Paul jumped in the truck, and turned on his phone; realising a second later that he didn't even have her number.

"Shit!" he punched his steering wheel angrily, making the horn go off. His wolf flared, but he shoved it aside. He couldn't exactly help her if he was a big-ass wolf.

 _What was going on?_

" _Justin_ …"

The name was ripped from his throat lowly, more growl than anything. Starting to shake – but trying his hardest to supress the wolf, he pulled out of his driveway, and started speeding towards the school.

* * *

Kitty ignored the feeling of another puddle soaking her socks, as she made her way along the pavement-free path alongside the main coastal road.

She was already soaked through, clutching her bag tightly shut so that the contents would stay dry.

A wind whipped past, sheeting the rain sideways – and making her shiver even harder.

Headlights coming round the corner made her squint and duck her head, water running down her neck. She had already been soaked once by a driver rushing past and splattering water all over her.

Tires screeched to a halt, and she looked up in confusion.


	15. Chapter 15

Her eyes landed on a familiar dark blue truck.

Then her suspicions were confirmed; the driver's door opened, and an impossibly tall figure stepped out, and jogged towards her.

"Hey, Paul-" she began, with a relieved smile.

"Get in the car."

She recoiled at his furious voice. "What's going on?"

"You're cold and wet. Just get in the car."

"How did you find me?"

Paul's form shivered as a tremor ran through him. He sighed through gritted teeth, and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then without warning, he reached out and threw her over his shoulder. She gasped. "PAUL! PUT ME DOWN!"

"No."

Kitty could swear there was a trace of amusement in his voice. She couldn't help the dark scowl that marred her face as he dropped her in the front passengers seat and shut the door before jogging around to get in the other side.

She glowered out of the window.

"Hey, Kitty."

She ignored him.

"Kitty, come on. I'm sorry."

She shivered but refused to give him the satisfaction of asking him to turn the heater on. He sighed heavily again, and there was a rustling of fabric before something warm was dropped in her lap. His grey hoodie. She turned to berate him.

Her mouth went dry.

Kitty knew that Paul was built – hell, the boy was over 6"4 at least, and not a beanpole – but to be close and personal with all of this… bronzed skin and cut muscle.

Well, she suddenly felt more than a bit warm.

She hid her burning cheeks by pulling on his hoodie. When she emerged, he was trying very hard to hide a smirk.

"Like what you see?"

Kitty swore her cheeks could fry an egg. She looked out the window again. "You know that steroids can lead to, uh, shrinkage."

Paul snorted. "I think I'm good." Kitty couldn't help but dart her gaze down. He laughed. "Wanna see for yourself?"

"NO!" she cried – absolutely horrified by him and her reaction. "Just take me home, you irritating creature."

He laughed again, and turned on his truck, and pulled out back on the road.

With his hoodie on and the heater on full blast, plus his insane body heat, Kitty's teeth stopped chattering by the time they pulled up outside her house.

The rain had stopped.

He opened her door for her, and took her bag off her.

"Paul." Kitty said, and he turned, a hand above the door handle of her house. "Thank you for driving me home."

"You're welcome." Paul smiled at her, and felt his heart skip a beat as she returned the expression. Then she shot him a suspicious look. "But you have to tell me how you found me."

Paul hid the unease by winking at her. "A magician can't reveal all his secrets." He quipped.

She rolled her eyes, "Shut up." She tugged his hoodie off and held it out to him. "Thanks for the hoodie."

"Keep it." He heard himself say. "Looks better on you anyway. And we both think I look better without a shirt."

He flexed slightly, just to see her blush again. She sputtered something unintelligible and brushed by him to open her door.

 _God, she was tiny._

She would barely come up to his collarbone, and was delicately built. _Fairy-like_ , his mind supplied unhelpfully.

She paused in the doorway. "I'll see you tomorrow, Paul."

With one last smile, she was gone.

* * *

Kitty slept in luxuriously late on the Saturday, secure in her knowledge that she didn't have to be anywhere until 2:00, which is when Justin would come and pick her up. They were seeing Kill Bill: Volume 2, and she was determined to actually watch the movie, even though she hated Tarantino's gory films, much to Alex and Topher's disappointment.

After a late lunch, she got properly dressed and sat on her bed, trying to finish her book she had to read for class on Monday.

She realized only after she'd finished reading that Justin was late. It was 2:30, and she knew that the movie had started at 2:15.

Maybe she'd read the time wrong.

Ignoring the slightly uneasy feeling she had, she picked up The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, which she'd been reading for pleasure. The book fascinated her, and she was quickly lost in the world again.

It was 3:30 by the time she was done.

She couldn't help the pang of hurt as she checked the session times and found that she had been right, and it had started an hour ago.

Then her front doorbell rang. It was loud in the silent empty house, so she jumped up, and grabbed her bag, and pulled on her shoes.

She opened the door, and saw Justin, waiting. He looked her up and down. "Finally! Come on!" he snapped impatiently, and she blanched.

"Wha- you're an hour…" she trailed off at the furious look he gave her and bowed her head. "Sorry." She murmured, and followed him to the car. He got in and waved at her to get in, revving the engine. She sat down, silently strapping herself in, and staying quiet as he turned up the music as they sped towards the cinema.

* * *

They made in time to sit down during a particularly bloody fight scene, and Justin was immediately engrossed, leaving Kitty to shift uncomfortably in her seat as the movie wound to a close.

She was hurried back to the parking lot, and then they were speeding even further from her house. "Justin, where are we going?"

"The party remember, babe?" he smiled at her winningly, and she smiled back nervously. "We're gonna be a little early to set up. I think Jack's girlfriend is there so you can talk to her."

"Oh, okay."

He smirked at something as he turned back to the road.

She frowned but settled in her seat.

 _Hopefully this would turn out okay._

* * *

Kitty liked to think of herself as a patient person.

But trying to talk to Jack's girlfriend was trying every last nerve she had.

Not only was Hannah boring and shallow, she was also vindictive. Kitty had heard at least one malicious rumour about practically everyone she knew, and had also been subjected to some very thinly veiled insults.

"Hey, Katelyn, could you please grab me another drink. Something sugar free and with vodka in it. Cider is so fattening. But you knew that!" she laughed, and Kitty stood, blushing as she put down her pear cider. She wasn't a drinker – but after realising that there was no way she would be getting through talking to Hannah without going insane, she had picked up a drink.

She went into the empty kitchen, looking through the back sliding doors to where Justin and a few of his friends were already starting keg stands. She sighed, and reached for the most sugary soft drink there to put in a cup, as well as the tiniest bit of vodka. _It was the little things…_

Then, without warning, the front door opened, and kids started pouring in.

Kitty flattened herself against the kitchen sink, eyes wide – as cheering kids, ten of which were supporting beer kegs, bounced through the kitchen. She recognised a few of them – but found no friendly faces. A girl paused at the fridge, and Kitty gathered her courage, and opened her mouth to – hopefully – make a friend. Then the music turned on. The girl whooped, and left the kitchen. Kitty was alone again, but surrounded by noise and people. She turned back to the sink. Her eyes strayed to the vodka bottle.

 _She shouldn't…_

"KATELYN, WHERE THE FUCK IS MY DRINK?"

She sighed at Hannah's screech, and picked up the bottle, and lifted it to her lips – and threw back as much as she could before her throat started burning. Coughing, she returned to the living room, clutching the bottle, and Hannah's own drink.

She shoved the cup at Hannah, and ignored her disgusted look as she turned back to her friend. Kitty wandered further into the house, up the stairs – sipping at the vodka all the while – and into an empty bedroom. It looked like the master bedroom – as it had a balcony that overlooked the forest.

She collapsed on the bed, bringing the vodka bottle to her lips again.

She could feel her brain bumbling around in her skull, and giggled. Everything was kinda funny. But she couldn't close her eyes because…

 _Whoa._

She felt like she was spinning, around, and around, and around, and around…

Kitty stood, shaking her hair out of her eyes, and wandered over to the balcony, messily shoving the doors open, and leaning against the little wall.

Far away in the woods, a wolf howled.

Kitty laughed, and tilted her head back crazily.

Then she howled too – loud and wild.

The howl sounded again, almost like it was joining her. Her laughter broke up her answering howl.

"Kitty?"

She turned, almost losing her balance. Justin was walking towards her, and she met him halfway, letting him tug her over to the bed. He laughed as she fell back, and sprawled. "You are white-girl-wasted right now, oh my god." She laughed with him. "You having a good time, babe?"

Kitty nodded, _she so was!_ "Yeah!"

"You know what would make your night even better?" Justin asked.

Kitty missed the glint in his eye, as he lay down next to her. "What?" she asked. She couldn't believe she sounded so _slurry_.

"You and I could snuggle…" Justin said, and moved her closer. Kitty felt her eyes close, and struggled to open them – but when she did, the world looked like it was tilted crazily, as well as feeling like it. "And we could…" Kitty felt his lips on hers like she was a different person, his tongue in her mouth salivary and disgusting, and making her nauseous.

"Nooo…" She murmured, and turned her head, slightly dislodging him. "I ffffee… kinda bad…"

"Oh, babe, I'll make you feel better." Justin groaned, nuzzling at her neck. His breath was making her stomach turn – it was cold and wet. She tried to arch away from him, but just ended up pressing her ass against him accidentally. He groaned again, "You want this, huh, baby?"

"No!" Kitty said, eyes opening and looking down at herself, where Justin's hand was creeping up her torso towards her breasts. He squeezed – too hard, to the point of pain. "Justin- What are you doing?!" She couldn't lift her body away, and she couldn't yell. She felt like she was going to throw up, as his hand pulled down her top, leaving her bra exposed. "Justin- STOP!" his other hand was suddenly at her hip, and then his fingers were popping open the button of her jeans, and creeping over her–

Dimly, Kitty heard the door slam open, but as a wave of nausea passed over her again, she had to close her eyes. Justin's hands were ripped from her body, and there was a low growling, as well as Justin's frantic voice.

 _"_ Dude! I'm drunk! I thought…"

"If you say you thought she wanted it, then I'll throw you off the balcony." The voice was dangerous and low – but Kitty felt some part of her ease inexplicably.


	16. Chapter 16

Paul felt, rather than saw Kitty's distress – from where she was prostrate on the bed behind him.

He also knew that he now had an audience. He lifted a finger, and put his face close to Justin's – from where he had him slammed against the wall. "If I see you within ten feet of her ever again – I will destroy you. Got it?" He growled. Justin nodded his head violently, and Paul released his shirt front, leaving the boy sprawled on the floor, coughing.

He turned back to the door, and saw that a few party guests, and some of Justin's friends were hovering in the doorway. Justin's 'friends' looked like they wanted to intervene. Paul growled low in his throat, and shot them his best glare. They all scattered.

Kitty groaned. Paul's attention was drawn to the half-empty bottle of vodka she was still holding with one hand, and pulled it out of her grip, letting it spill out on the bed. He smiled spitefully, but the smile faded as Kitty made another small sound, more a whine than anything.

Paul could only imagine that this was her first time being drunk. She was sick. He could feel it like an ache. It was better now that he was with her, but he didn't want her in this house anymore.

Sam was mad that he'd left mid-patrol, but he'd deal with that later.

 _This was more important._

Paul picked her up, and felt his heart jump as she nestled into him with a pained whimper.

* * *

Paul shot fierce looks at anyone who looked their way as he descended the stairs with her in his arms. It looked a sight. He was shirtless – but at least he'd had the forethought to tie his cut-offs around his leg – showing up naked would have just been more trouble.

Without a word to anyone, he strode from the house – thanking his lucky stars that she hadn't even removed her coat. _Where could he take her?_

"I have to throw up…"

Kitty's slurred, yet strong voice caught him by surprise, and so he gently lowered her to the ground. She swayed, and he held her steady, a hand on her hip. They were just in front of the tree line beside the house.

His heart panged as she retched violently.

"It's alright, Kitty…" he said – surprising himself with the gentleness in his voice. He almost rolled his eyes at himself, but was distracted as she shuddered with the force of expelling her stomach. He used one hand to gather all of her hair back, rubbing the nape of her neck with his thumb. "You're okay…"

"I can't go home…" She choked out, before throwing up again. "My mum will-" she broke off again to gag.

"Okay. We'll sort something out – but just get as much out as you can for now." Paul said, squeezing her hip. She nodded jerkily. They stayed like that for a few more minutes before Kitty tried to move. He let her go, but had to catch her as she tried to walk straight. "Whoa! Not into the vomit!" he laughed.

She didn't respond, just let him guide her towards the trees. It was all he could think of at the moment – he felt comfortable in the woods. But then she shook her head violently. "No, no, no!" she mumbled.

"What?" Paul asked, startled.

She shook, and he didn't know if it was because of the cold air or- "It's not safe in there…" she mumbled. _Oh. Right._ The woods were a place of trauma for her.

Paul cursed quietly – but she was too out of it to notice. "It's alright, Kitty, we won't go in there. Let's try and figure out your parents."

"Can you- Can you text them? Tell them, tell, tell them that I'm staying with a new friend – um, Hannah?" She garbled.

"Where's your phone?" Paul asked.

"Back pocket." She said, and made no move to retrieve it. Paul sighed, and tried not to think inappropriate thoughts as his hand moved over his Imprint's butt, and fished around for her phone.

He unlocked it, and went into her messages. Quickly, he shot off a message to her mother.

 _Hey mom! Feeling kinda tired, so my new friend Hannah offered to let me crash at her house. See you tomorrow xx_

It only took a few moments before her mom responded.

 _Thank you for telling me, honey. Stay safe xx_

Paul took a second to program his own number into her phone, before he tucked it into her jacket pocket. "You're covered." His response was her curling over to throw up again. "You'd better not have alcohol poisoning." He tried to joke. She whimpered and he shook his head at himself. _Idiot._

It was almost 12:30, so there wouldn't be anything open this side of town. His mom would be heading off to her night shift soon, so he could bring her to his house soon and let her sleep it off – she wouldn't be home until 2:00pm the next day. "Alright, Kitty, we're gonna sober you up a bit."

She nodded, and he wound his arm around her shoulders, and steered her down the road.

They could walk along the beach and then up to the back of his house.

Kitty was silent as they headed down a human-made path to the beach. Though the forest was on either side of them, she seemed calm. When her feet hit the sand, she automatically bent over, and slipped off her shoes. He let her wriggle her toes in the sand for a minute.

He didn't notice the goofy smile on his face until she opened her eyes, and focussed on him blearily. "Paul." She said.

He waited for more, but that seemed to be it. He blinked bemusedly for a moment, before she stumbled away from him, towards the water, which was glinting with the light of the moon. He jogged after her, and caught her before she entered the water. "No swimming under the influence." She grumbled something unintelligibly at him. He grinned. "Feeling a bit better?"

She nodded, and threw herself forwards at him. "You're so big!" she mumbled against his chest. Her face was cold. Paul blinked down at her in surprise, before winding his arms around her. "Carry me, I don't wanna walk!" she grizzled. Paul automatically picked her up, and she clung to him like a koala bear, arms and legs around his torso.

 _She really had no idea about how gone he was._

Paul wondered if it was an Imprint thing, doing what they wanted and feeling good about it.


	17. Chapter 17

Kitty thought that she should be sober enough to attempt the steps of Paul's house by herself.

She was wrong.

With one step up, she suddenly found herself pitching forwards – too surprised in her lack of coordination to even attempt to catch herself. But again – as he had been doing all evening – Paul swooped forwards and caught her easily, even chuckling at her. Kitty pouted. She felt so… wrong.

She hated feeling like this – out of control and fuzzy.

To distract herself, she fixed her gaze on the outside of Paul's house – it was nothing like she'd picture for him, with wind beaten sky blue panels and cute little white trimmings. It was two stories, but narrow – an adorable little cottage house.

"Pretty…" she mumbled out, and Paul looked down at her from his position behind her. He'd taken to manoeuvring her like a puppet, body pressed close to hers to essentially force her up the stairs.

"What?" he furrowed his brow, and she laughed at the absurdity of it all, reaching out to press at the angry crease of his forehead. He went still under her touch, mouth hanging open. She touched his nose too.

"Boop."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, let's get you into bed."

He puppet-walked her through his back door quickly, barely giving her a chance to look over the dark interior. His stair case was narrow, and as she suspected – his bedroom was the only room on the second floor.

His window was open, the cold sea air mingling with the scent of pine from the surrounding forest.

She shivered involuntarily, her sense of temperature returning.

"Oh, shit – sorry." He muttered, and sat her on his bed and crossed quickly to his window, shutting it and drawing the curtains. He turned to face her – and she grinned stupidly at him. He looked funny, especially with his hands on his hips like that. He looked like her mom. "What?" he demanded again.

Kitty shook her head, unable to answer as giggles began to burst from her lips. The force of her laughter tipped her backwards, and she landed with a dull thump on top of his bedsheets. They smelt like him. Sober Kitty probably would have recoiled from the odd thought – but the mixture of forest and that weird man smell was comforting. His face appeared in her sight. He was scanning her face, and she stilled – trying to be serious for him. He smiled slightly, warm and nice, and it made her toes curl at the sincerity of it. "You should have a shower. You smell." He said, breaking the moment.

Kitty groaned at the thought of it, and at her sudden awareness of her own smell – vodka, and salt and the faint acrid stench of her own vomit. "Ew…"

"Yeah. Come on." He tugged her up and back onto her feet, like she weighed nothing, holding her as she swayed, getting her balance back. He nodded towards the door on the other side of his room. "That's the bathroom, do you want me to come in with you?"

Kitty blanched, and shook her head violently. "No!" no way was she letting _anyone_ help her shower – not even this kind, warm Paul who had been her champion all night. That was another weirdness she would have to focus on when she was sober. But not now – not when all her drunk mind could focus on was having a good long shower and a good long sleep.

She made her own slow way to the bathroom, as Paul rifled through his drawers behind her. She waited for him in the doorway, and he made his way over to her with a pile of things – towels and his own clothing. It took her brain a second to process the implications of wearing his clothes – and when she did – she flushed. There was something… intimate about it.

Before her addled brain could focus too much on it – she grabbed them and entered the bathroom door – almost slamming it behind her. She swore she heard a faint chuckle from the other side, and squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment.

It took her about double the time it usually would to shower by herself. _Damn her drunk-ass._ By the time she made it out, and was dressed in a huge shirt and a pair of pyjama bottoms she had to roll up at the top and the bottoms – she was exhausted. Definitely less drunk – the shower had sobered her up – but all that dizziness was replaced by a bone deep tiredness. She pushed open the bathroom door to see Paul lying back on his bed, eyes closed, looking content. At the sound of the door creaking, he sat up instantly. The look of softness in his eyes took her aback – as he looked her up and down. "I forget how tiny you are." He said, with a faint smirk at her doctored bottoms.

Kitty scowled at him, weirdness forgotten in wake of his insult. "I'm _average_ height – it's not my fault you're a freaky giant."

Paul rolled his eyes, "if you're average, then I'm teapot." He ignored her irritated snort, and stood motioning to the bed. "Your bed, milady."

Kitty half-grinned at his terrible accent, and made her way over. She was half-way on the large mattress when she frowned. "Wait, where are you sleeping?"

Paul cleared his throat. "On the couch?" Kitty gave him her own up and down this time.

There was no way _he_ would fit on a couch – "You'll break your neck. I'll take the couch."

"Nope." Paul shook his head. "Sorry, as a guest in this house, you have to do what I say."

"I don't think that's how that works…" Kitty said slowly.

Paul shrugged. "Too bad, so sad."

Kitty sighed, and crossed her legs underneath herself, and regarded him, cheeks already flaming at the thought of what she was going to suggest. "We could just… share?" she proposed timidly, staring at a spot above his head. To her surprise, he made a choking noise – and she looked back at him in concern as he began a coughing fit. "Are-are you alright?" she asked, eyes widening in concern.

He waved her off, slapping his own chest and grimacing. "Ah – I don't think- no. That wouldn't be… no." he managed, wheezing slightly. "I'll take the couch, you take the bed." Kitty couldn't help but feel a stab of hurt for his violent reaction – but at the same time knew that when she was fully sober she would probably regret suggesting it.

"Okay." She said softly. "Goodnight, Paul."

He nodded, still slightly reddened by his coughing fit. "Night, Kitty." She turned off the bedside lamp and curled up under his covers. The bed felt so big.

"Paul." She whispered. He paused at the door, frame outlined by the hall-light. She couldn't see his face. "Thank you." Sleep was gripping her tighter by the second, and when he was silent for another moment, she thought he must have left.

"Anything." He finally responded, a whisper on the edge of her consciousness.

She drifted to sleep as the door clicked quietly shut.


	18. Chapter 18

Paul woke up to the smell of pancakes and a sharp pain in his neck.

Groaning, he sat up slowly – taking in the way his legs were over the end of the couch. Probably not his best idea ever. He rubbed furiously at the knot in his neck, trying to ease the stabbing pain. Then he grew aware of the soft sounds from the kitchen. Distracted, he stood, and silently crept towards the kitchen. Here the smell of the sweet breakfast food was stronger, as was the sound of the sweet voice quietly singing an unfamiliar song.

He peered round the door – heart stuttering at the sight of Kitty.

She had abandoned the ridiculous pants, and was barefoot and barelegged in his kitchen, caramel hair messily piled on top of her head, strands escaping, curling around her ears and the nape of her neck. She was singing – and he knew right then and there that it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. She was illuminated by the light from the kitchen window and she looked unreal – too perfect to be standing in his small kitchen. Paul liked to think of himself as a serious person – he was a warrior, a wolf in human skin – but the sight of his Imprint in his home was making his heart beat double time and all his thoughts turn to mush.

She turned then – a platter of pancakes stacked high clutched in her grip. Paul watched in faint amusement as her eyes widened and she jumped comically – almost losing her grip on the platter. He could see her freckles perfectly in this light, delicately dotted across the bridge of her nose and her cheeks.

"Don't _do_ that!" she scolded lightly, and he could hear her heart beating quickly from here.

"Sorry." He said unapologetically. He sniffed again, stomach rumbling. "What's all this?"

"Breakfast?" she said slowly, and to his delight, she flushed slightly. "I hope you don't mind – I just wanted to give you a proper thank you for last night."

Paul offered her a smile. "No need to thank me. I would have done anything for-" _anything for you._ His thoughts stuttered to a halt, Sam's warnings echoing in his head, and fear of her own rejection of this tentative reconciliation cutting his words off. "Anything for a friend." He finished uneasily, praying that she hadn't noticed his awkward response.

She didn't appear to – she was puttering around the table settings, laying out napkins and knives and forks. Finally she stood back, and met his eyes again, smiling at him. "Please. Eat." Paul didn't need encouragement. And if it was what his Imprint wanted – then who was he to deny her?

* * *

Paul seemed… different today.

Kitty wasn't sure what she had been expecting exactly – but it definitely wasn't more of the warm kindness from the night before – yet here she was, eating breakfast with an oddly docile Paul. It was… nice. Comforting.

It was just so easy, easy to talk, easy to sit.

She could barely reconcile the angry boy that she had first encountered with the charming man she was sitting across from. This one was funny, and had a big smile, and ate enough for three people – and some part of her suspected he was holding back. Kitty was glad she remembered their first outing as friends – and how much he had eaten.

He reached for the juice in the centre of the table – but stopped half-way, wincing, hand flying to the back of his neck. His face creased, and Kitty felt guilt pool in her stomach. "Does it hurt a lot?" she asked, half-rising from her seat.

Paul opened his eyes, and tried to smile at her. "It's fine. It'll get better." Kitty bit at her lip, and he sighed. "Kitty, it's fine, seriously."

Kitty knew that it was probably crossing a line – considering that he hadn't even wanted to sleep in the same bed as her, something that still rankled her for some reason – but she got up and walked around the table to him. He twisted to watch her approach warily. "I might be able to help." She was good at massaging out knots and aches – both Topher and Alex were athletes, and though she had never taken to being sporty, she knew how to take care of them in recovery. Alex in particular was known to push herself too hard. She was far too stubborn for own good. Paul was still watching her with wide, unreadable eyes, and she sighed. "Turn around." He did so, slowly.

Gently, she ran her fingers over his neck, up his spine and on either side of it, with firm pressure – trying to feel where he reacted. He twitched as she touched the juncture between his shoulder and neck, and near the base of his skull. Switching to a light pressure, she began to work at the muscles of his shoulders, loosening them before she tried to work out the knots there. He had tensed when she had first touched him – but was slowly relaxing under her ministrations. She smiled in satisfaction.

His low groan when she worked on the lower knot was far from relaxing, however – and she swallowed dryly at the sound, heart thumping erratically. _Get a hold of yourself._ She scolded her traitorous body. Taking a silent, shaky breath – she focussed her attention on him again, making sure the bottom knot was worked out before she made her way up to the base of his skull.

The atmosphere turned syrupy – slow and sweet, time seeming almost fluid as a weird sort of quiet fell over both of them. Kitty felt like she was floating – nothing but the sun, and the warmth of Paul in her awareness. At some point, she had stopped massaging him, and was instead running her fingers through his cropped hair, gently scratching his scalp. His head had fallen back slightly – and his eyes were half-closed, his whole body loose in the chair. From this angle, she could see the planes of his face – and was struck by a sudden realisation. He was… almost beautiful – when he wasn't scowling, the fine lines of his face were almost delicate, but for the sharp cut of his jaw and nose. _Handsome_. _He was handsome._

Her heart thudded irrationally.

As if he had heard it, he blinked open his eyes fully – pupil dilating despite the sun streaming onto them. The warm light turned the brown of his iris into something gold, like sun stippling through a jar of honey.

He moved equal parts slow and too quick for her to process – gently wrapping one hand around her free hand, and then with dizzying speed, shifting her around so that she landed solidly in his lap. Her other hand was still tangled in his hair – but that was the least of her problems. Although, her addled brain couldn't quite process being cradled against his solid heat as a problem. It didn't even seem to matter much that in the process, their faces had come close together.

Her fingers tightened unconsciously in his hair, and he closed his eyes for a second – before heaving a low breath. She could feel it on her lips, and felt her heart speed up again. He was all she could see – and when he leant forwards slightly – she didn't move, couldn't move, something keeping her in place, even as alarm bells began to ring faintly in the back of her mind.

With a loud crash – the front door banged open – and the spell was broken.


	19. Chapter 19

As if burned, Kitty leapt from his lap, rational thought returning – even as a part of her mourned the loss of his warm skin on hers. _What the hell was wrong with her?_

"Paul? Are you home?"

The unfamiliar female voice made Kitty twitch, eyes trying to find anything to look at but him, hurrying over to the sink, and setting a plate under the faucet – mind swirling.

"Paul?!"

She couldn't help it – and looked at him, wondering why he wasn't responding. He met her gaze head on – eyes boring into hers with an intensity that actually made her gasp softly, a quiet embarrassing sound. She swallowed and turned back to the sink as he looked away, towards the hall. "Yeah, mom – we're in the kitchen."

" _We're?_ Who exactly-? Oh."

Kitty turned back around as the owner of the voice stepped into the kitchen. Mrs. Lahote was shorter than her son – but that wasn't strange considering his freakish height – but still taller than her by a good few inches. She had the same eyes as her son, a dark brown that looked lighter in the sun, and her hair, greying at the temples – was a deep brown, not black like Paul's cropped hair. She was round-faced, but with the same sharp nose and thick brows as her son.

Kitty smiled at her, hoping her confusion and panic weren't evident on her face. "Hello, Mrs. Lahote – I'm Katelyn Faye, I'm Paul's… school friend." She finished slowly.

The elder woman sighed, "Oh, call me Jennifer. Mrs. Lahote was my ex-mother-in-law."

"Of course, Jennifer. I'm sorry for the mess…" Kitty looked ruefully at the unwashed dishes and the table settings still on the table.

Jennifer waved her off, and flicked Paul's ear. "I've seen worse… _trust_ me." Paul didn't even react, just rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Shouldn't you be in bed by now?" he asked, trying to shepherd her towards the door, "Aren't you tired?"

"Aren't _you_?" Jennifer shot back, standing her ground and putting her hands on her hips. "Don't think I don't know you've been sneaking out again – Lord knows I can't stop you – but would you just _listen_ to me for once-?

"Actually, Jennifer-" Kitty interjected timidly, "He was home last night – at least for the most part – he helped me get better after I was… sick."

Jennifer blinked at her, before looking at Paul, eyes narrowed. "Really?"

Paul sighed. "Well, you wouldn't believe me if I had said. I promise, mom. I can't… stop – but I'll try not to. Can we talk about it later?" he finished in a hiss, as Jennifer open her mouth again.

Jennifer ignored him, and turned to Kitty instead. "You seem to have your head on straight – so I'll ask you instead. Would you ease an old woman's conscience and make sure that this idiot stops running around all night like some delinquent in the name of being a good employee? I don't know what that Sam Uley has over you, but-"

"Mom!" Paul barked, twitching slightly. "Go sleep." He said lowly, and herded her out of the kitchen. Kitty was quiet as she listened to them bicker down the hallway. _Running around all night? Employed by Sam Uley? Sam from the beach? Sam from the school? What did he have to do with anything? And how did Paul find her last night?_

"Sorry." Paul grumbled, sidling back into the kitchen – breaking her train of thought. Clearly whatever softness or weirdness from before was gone, as he began to hurriedly gather plates, and dumped them beside the sink. He looked down at her, and raised an eyebrow. "You good?"

Kitty blinked, and nodded. "Yeah – I, just – yeah." She stuttered. "I need to fill the sink." She said distractedly, and reached for the faucet. Paul caught her wrist, whippet quick. She stared at him with wide eyes.

"Don't worry about it." He said shortly. "I'll do it later."

Kitty tried a smile, "Paul, it's fine, it'll take a few minutes-"

" _Just leave it_." He growled. Kitty recoiled slightly at the ferocious tone, watching as his jaw muscle jumped as he closed his eyes for a second – clearly trying to contain his anger. He opened his eyes again, mouth twisting. "Look, I'm sorry – I just-" A howl echoed outside the house and Paul's head snapped towards the window. He stared hard – and Kitty followed his gaze warily to the trees.

 _"The wolves-"_

 _"You should go-"_

They spoke at the same time – meeting each other's eyes as they did so. Paul's face was hard, and Kitty knew that she looked unnerved – because something was happening and she didn't understand. Something was making Paul tense – and the wolves howled again, and Kitty looked at the window. A warm hand pressed on her chin, turning her face away from the window, and back to him. He was working his jaw again, looking frustrated.

"I-I'm sorry." Kitty said finally, after a few tense moments of silence. "I should go." She said softly, stepping away from him – and trying to ignore the pang of hurt she felt as he looked to the window and nodded tersely.

She near fled upstairs to his room, pulling on her jeans and picking up her jacket and phone before she hurried back downstairs again, careful to tiptoe past Jennifer's closed door. She peered back into the kitchen – empty. She hadn't even heard him leave, and yet the back door was swinging open. Kitty bit at her lip, and crossed to close it. She wasn't sure what she was feeling. Confusion – certainly – but also… worry. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what.

All she knew was that it had to do with Sam and it meant Paul was running around at night. _Somehow it had led him to her last night._

Kitty locked the front door before she left, leaning against the door for a moment, and looking out at the street in front of her. She wasn't exactly sure where she was, and didn't even know how far away she was – and she didn't particularly feel like wandering along the beach until she encountered the path that led to her own house through the woods. Sighing, she dialled her brother's number.

Topher picked up on the third ring.

" _Hey, what the hell, man?"_

Kitty grimaced. "Sorry… I should have texted you – but I wasn't thinking straight."

" _Yeah, somehow I gathered. You're lucky mom trusts you so much – how did she even believe that text?"_ he sounded almost amused, despite his irritation.

Kitty shrugged, before remembering he couldn't see her. "I don't know, Toph. Listen, could you pick me up?"

" _Yeah. Are you still at Justin's?"_

Kitty felt her stomach lurch at the name – for a second feeling phantom hands invading her body. "No." she whispered. "I'm at the end of Greenchurch Street." She felt suddenly tired. "Please hurry."

" _Kitty, what happened? Whose house are you at?"_ Topher's voice was increasing in both volume and worry, and she winced.

"I'll tell you when I see you, okay? See you soon, Toph." She hung up on him, ignoring his protests. Kitty stared unseeingly out at the street for a long moment, trying to organize her thoughts. Topher would be furious if he found out about Justin – nor could she guess how he'd react about Paul rescuing her. But she couldn't keep it from him – she could never keep anything big from him. She was rubbish at keeping secrets, guilt eating her up.

It wasn't long until Topher pulled up outside the house, and she stood up from her seated position on Paul's front porch. She got in the passengers seat, and exhaled heavily, aware of her brother's eyes on her, but unwilling to look at him.

"Well?" he asked eventually.

"Are you going to start the car?" she asked, and he grumbled something, turning the key in the ignition.

"Whose house is that?" he asked, making a neat U-turn.

"Paul's." she mumbled. The car gave a shuddering lurch as Topher snapped his head around to look at her. "It was nothing bad!" she met his gaze, "in fact… he kinda stopped the bad…" she finished.

Topher narrowed his eyes out the windshield. "What ' _bad_?'" he asked warily. Kitty felt the same grossness as earlier, and for a moment, was unable to answer as she remembered the helpless dizzy feeling, with Justin's hands on her, and her unable to stop him. "Kitty _?_ "

"I-" she began haltingly. She swallowed thickly, suddenly finding a lump in her throat. "I got really… drunk…"

"I gathered that, when you didn't make it home." Topher said slowly. "What happened, Kitty?"

"I went- I went upstairs, and I just… suddenly I was on the bed…" Kitty continued, eyes blurring as tears built up. She didn't even know why she was crying, or why her stomach was roiling and her heart was pounding. "And he was there too, and he _touched_ me… he wouldn't stop touching me-"

" _Paul_?" Topher's voice was low and dangerous, his hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel.

Kitty shook her head, the motion dislodging tears from her eyes. They rolled down her cheeks slowly, and she couldn't even find the strength to wipe them away. " _Justin."_ She whispered.

Topher made a low sound, his face darkening. He pulled over violently, jerking them both around in their seats. Kitty knew she was crying now – openly – breath leaving her in little sawing gasps. Topher was muttering something, hands clenching and unclenching around the steering wheel. Then, with a movement that made her jump, he slammed his hands down on the steering wheel – making it shudder with the force of it. He turned to her.

"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to find him and rip his fucking hands off. I'll kill him, Kitty – tell me where he lives." His voice was serious.

Kitty shook her head, sucking in a shaky breath, "Topher… _please_ … just take me home." She managed. He stared at her, familiar green eyes wild with rage. "Please." She said weakly.

Mechanically, he nodded, and placed his hands back on the wheel, and slowly they rolled back onto the quiet road.

They weren't far from home.

It only gave her a few minutes to calm herself, to force the panic away and to stop the tears. But it was enough. It had to be. Her parents could never know, Alex could never know.

Topher reached out slowly, and wrapped his hand around hers where it lay limp in her lap. He squeezed once, and she turned to look at him. He was smiling grimly, face set, eyes worried. Kitty mustered everything she could and smiled back. It seemed to be enough, because he released her and undid his seatbelt, getting out of the car. Kitty followed him, as if in a dream.

It took her another few hours to feel more like herself again. By then, the rest of her family was home – and she mustered everything she had to help with dinner.

At night, she was cold again – she slept little – dreams of hands, and red eyes and sharp teeth disturbing her rest.


	20. Chapter 20

School on Monday came all too quickly for her liking – despite being awake for hours before her alarm went off.

She was tired – and not in the mood to deal with classes – or her brother, who had been infuriatingly soft with her, practically gluing himself to her side since they had gotten home, and since breakfast. He had even decided to sit in the back with her, forcing Alex to the front seat, much to her displeasure – because it meant she couldn't have her headphones in.

The halls were packed when they got to school – actually on time for once. She couldn't see Kim, or Jared or Paul – despite the two boys towering over any other student in the school, and craned her neck to see further. In her distraction, someone bumped into her, and she stumbled slightly. Topher's hand quickly closed around her arm, tugging her upright, as he glared daggers at whoever had bumped her. "Watch it, asshole!" he spat, and kept hurrying her down the hall like some weird bodyguard. Kitty blinked at his tight face in bemusement.

She didn't understand why he was treating her like glass.

 _So she'd had a breakdown in the car the other day – she was fine, she was totally and completely over it, and who cared-_

Her eyes fell upon an all-too familiar figure. Justin wasn't looking at her, laughing with a group of his friends. All of a sudden, Kitty felt her heart stutter, her breath heaving out of her like she'd been punched. Panic – unreasonable, unexplainable panic – began to build in her body. She stopped dead, Topher's eyes falling on Justin at the same time, his green eyes narrowing and mouth opening to yell something.

"Topher, don't-" she began weakly, before a tall man stepped in front of them effectively obscuring their vision of him. Jared smiled at them.

"Morning guys." He said warmly, and Kim appeared on his other side. She wasn't as successful as Jared at conjuring a disarming smile, eyes still lingering on something past Jared's bulk. Topher smiled tersely at Jared.

"Hi. Would you move for a second?" he said quickly, and Kitty felt her heart sink as Jared turned around for a second, before nodding and stepping aside.

Justin and his friends were nowhere in sight. Instead, Paul was walking towards them, a grim look on his face. He met her gaze, and the look melted away to a warm smile. Kitty felt her heart skip another beat – but now, the panic was gone, and instead she felt her cheeks colour as she remembered her Sunday morning. Topher looked between them, a slightly suspicious look on his face.

Paul stopped short in front of her. "Hey." He said, deep voice making her swallow nervously.

"Hey." She said back, voice embarrassingly breathy. He looked tired as well, faint circles under his eyes – but they were no less intense. She wondered if it had anything to do with his mystery job.

Topher clapped his hands together loudly, startling her. "Weeeellll… if we're all just about finished staring into each other's eyes – can we get to class?"

Kitty blushed furiously, and Paul coughed looking everywhere but at her. Jared chuckled quietly, and tucked Kim under his arm, leaning down to whisper something to her. She giggled, and Paul shot him a glare for some reason. Paul cleared his throat again, and looked at her. "We should. I don't want another detention from Jameson." Kitty grimaced.

"Yeah – let's not have a repeat." She nodded resolutely and continued down the corridor. There was something comforting about having Paul by her side. He was her safety net.

* * *

In English – Kitty got brave.

She leant slightly over to Paul, who was studiously doing anything but taking notes, his page a scrawled mess of funny little drawings and random words. What looked to be a grocery list sprawled down the margin. In comparison, her neat dot-points were almost amusing in their difference. "So. Are you going to tell me what happened on Sunday?" she whispered, shooting Jameson a careful look, and missing the way Paul tensed beside her.

"What do you mean?" he asked lowly, pen stilling on his page.

Kitty looked at him, "You ran out of your house, and left your backdoor wide open… don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about." She scolded lightly, a smile growing on her face. "Right after those wolf howls."

Paul was very still. "It was… my… my job. You know. The one my mom mentioned? With Sam. I had to… pick up a shift. I remembered suddenly. Sorry." He explained haltingly. Kitty narrowed her eyes at him, and he widened his, projecting a horribly false innocent look. "I know I was rude when I kicked you out, and I'm sorry. Truly."

Kitty could hear the sincerity in his voice – despite his obvious subject change, and the exaggerated apology. "It's fine – I kinda overstayed my welcome anyway, I hope your mom didn't mind."

Paul shook his head, "No – you weren't – I mean, it was _nice_ to have you over. And my mom, she didn't mind. She thought you were very nice actually."

Kitty smiled softly, ducking her head to hide the red in her cheeks. "Cool."

"Yeah." Paul said quietly, and Kitty could feel his stare on the side of her face. This hyperawareness of Paul was new and… weird – but not uncomfortable. It just felt like she'd known him for ages, and yet still got surprised at the things he would do.

* * *

They sat together at lunch – and Kitty thought it was almost laughable – how dwarfed Kim and her were in comparison to the three boys sitting with them. Topher and Jared were already deep in discussion about a soccer match that Kitty had no clue about – Kim with her notes spread out in front of her. Kitty worried about the overworked girl – she seemed to spend all her time studying these days, her AP classes taking their toll on her. She bit on her bottom lip, wondering how exactly she could relax Kim – _maybe a spa weekend?_

A nudge to her shoulder made her turn to look at Paul. "Don't worry about her, Kitty – Kim's been doing this since middle school. Sometimes I think she likes the stress." Kim looked up at Paul's teasing tone, and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Just because you don't care about your future…" she retorted. Paul's face went still for a moment, something flashing in his eyes. Kim paled slightly – eyes darting to Jared, who's head had also turned towards them. "Sorry. You know I didn't mean that…" she apologised quietly. Jared reached out and touched her cheek gently.

"It's fine." Paul said, shooting Kitty a look. Kitty gaped – Topher wearing an identical expression of confusion. _What had just happened?_ Paul cleared his throat. "Anyway, I wanted to ask if you were free tonight." Kitty returned to her food, taking a bite out of her sandwich – before realising the eyes of the table were on her. She choked on her food, swallowing hastily.

"Oh! Me?" she asked, looking to Paul for confirmation. He was watching her fondly – and Jared gave a low chuckle. "I – yeah, I think I'm free?" she looked to Topher, who shrugged. "I'm free."

Paul smiled. "Great! Sam invited you for dinner tonight." Kitty blinked in confusion. Paul's boss invited her for dinner. _What the hell?_ "I'll have her home by 10:00." Paul was speaking across her, to Topher.

"9:30." Topher responded, and Kitty shot him an annoyed look. "It's a school night." He said in a motherly tone, that made Kitty kick him under the table. He squawked, and rubbed his shin with a pout. "All I do is love you…" he grizzled.

Kitty rolled her eyes at him, fighting a smile. "Yeah, yeah."


	21. Chapter 21

The doorbell rang as Kitty was half-way dressed, and she felt – bizarrely – her heart skip a beat.

"Could someone get that?!" she yelled, hoping one of her family members could hear her. Hurriedly, she pulled on her boots – grabbing her phone and almost tripping on her way out of the room. She practically skipped down the hall, anticipation simmering low in her stomach and speeding her feet. Although it had only been a few hours since she'd seen Paul – she couldn't ignore the way she had missed him. Rounding the corner, she stopped.

Alex and Paul were staring at each other. Alex's face set in a scowl, her grey-green eyes looking particularly dark and cold. Her mouth was set in a hard line, and Paul – well, Paul looked uncertain. Nervous even. "What's going on?" Kitty asked hesitantly.

Paul turned to look at her at once, face smoothing over. He opened his mouth to respond, but Alex got there first, eyes still locked on Paul's face. "Nothing. Have fun on your _date_ , Kitty." With that, the thirteen-year-old turned and strode upstairs.

Paul smiled at her, and opened the door – but Kitty couldn't help but focus on the forced curl of his lips, and what she had been _sure_ was… suspicion in her sister's eyes. It was only after they pulled out of her driveway, leaving her house behind, she turned to Paul. His eyes were fixed determinedly out the windshield, but Kitty saw his hand tighten around the steering wheel as her eyes landed on him. "What was that?" he didn't respond. "Paul?"

It was the worried note to her voice that made him look at her. His face was that same smooth mask. "It was nothing. Your sister just… gave me a warning not to hurt you."

Kitty's lip twitched. "Oh. I didn't think she cared." She hadn't realised that Alex had cared so much about her to give her… to give _Paul_ a warning. She and Alex hadn't spoken properly in years now – and Kitty couldn't help but blame herself for the distance. For all her well-meaning, all her good intent, it had been her that had instigated the divide between her and her sister. It felt nice to know that Alex still cared about her.

* * *

Paul watched the small smile creep across Kitty's face, trying to ignore the creeping chill of fear. He knew Kitty would chalk it down to Alexandra being protective – and maybe part of it was, but he couldn't get the intense look in the young girl's eyes out of his head.

 _"I don't know what you're hiding – but you've jerked my sister around too much for me not notice. There's something wrong with you and your friend – keep her out of it."_

Paul hid his shiver. Alexandra was a little too on the nose for comfort. Sam had been insistent on meeting Kitty – but Paul didn't know how he felt about the two halves of his life meeting. There was nothing he wanted more than to have Kitty know everything about him – but he couldn't get her terrified face out of his head, the first time he had _seen_ her. And she was still afraid of the forest, still afraid of the dark a little, and now, that Justin incident. Paul still felt the urge to rip the boy apart. Kitty was timid to begin with – and he had contributed to that – and although he could try his hardest to make up for his stupidity, the fact remained, he was a monster.

He couldn't even talk to her without fucking up, overwhelmed by her smile and her scent and her sweetness. He knew he had no chance with her, but it didn't stop him from becoming more infatuated with her every day. He had to wonder how much of it was the Imprint, and how much was his own hopeless attraction.

He watched her as she talked, face animated – nothing like the shy girl he had first encountered. It was something silly – a complaint about Mr. Jameson, interjected with her thoughts about some TV show he honestly couldn't remember the name of – and he was very aware of how his heart was pounding.

"You're beautiful." He surprised himself with the words – but Kitty reacted like someone had slapped her, mouth dropping open and eyes comically wide as she jumped in place.

"I-wh- _me_?" she stuttered. Paul cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks heat, and uncharacteristic bashfulness making him look away.

"Yeah." He said roughly. _Thank god, they were pulling up to Sam's house._

"R-really?" she asked, and her voice was so unsure, that he had to look at her again, turning off the engine. She was still looking at him with that stunned expression, and there was something so confused about the surprise on her face – as if she'd never heard the words before – that he felt his heart pang.

"Really." He said, barely louder than a whisper. She bit down on her bottom lip, trying to supress a little happy smile, and the lovely blush spreading across her cheeks. If this was the reaction he got then… well, he'd just have to tell her more often.

He knew it was a bad idea, that he was getting in too deep, that it wouldn't come to anything, but he couldn't help himself – couldn't stop thinking about that golden, warm Sunday. _In the sunshine, in his kitchen, he was so sure she would kiss him_. He waited for her to open the truck door herself, but reached out to take her down himself, fingers around her waist. He could hear the hitch in her breathing, and hid his smile by looking into the surrounding forest. "Come on, Emily can't wait to meet you."

"Emily?" Kitty asked, falling into step with him, and he slowed his pace to accommodate her short legs.

"Sam's girlfriend." He supplied, before remembering with a wince, "She's great – but don't… stare." They walked up the porch steps together, and he knocked on the door once – though he knew Sam would have heard them the second they turned onto the driveway.

"Stare?" Kitty asked nervously – but then the door opened, and Emily was revealed, smiling widely. Paul watched Kitty's face, the confusion turn to realization, and then to surprise as Emily reached out and tugged her into a tight hug.

"Oh, it's so great to meet you, Kitty!" Emily said enthusiastically, releasing Kitty to steer her into the house. "I've heard so much about you – I've been wanting to meet you for _ages._ " Paul followed with no small amusement, sending Kitty a small smile as she shot him a look that screamed ' _what?!'_

Sam was standing behind the counter, busy mixing something, with a look of intense concentration on his face. Paul was impressed Emily had trusted him alone in the kitchen for so long. He looked up, and nodded to Paul, smiling at Kitty. "Good to see you again, Kitty. Paul." He winked at Paul when Emily started gushing to Kitty again. Paul rolled his eyes. There was something smug in Sam's eyes, especially after Kitty stammered her way through an offer to help cook – which Emily jumped on immediately, with a cry of how lovely she was.

Paul kept half an eye on Kitty from where he sat at the table. Emily was nattering away to her, as per usual – and he was happy to see Kitty slowly opening up, even laughing freely. "She's sweet, Paul." Sam said quietly, approvingly – though Paul knew he didn't have much of a choice of giving his approval. An Imprint was irreversible. Kitty could be an awful, ugly harpy, and Sam would still have to smile and say she was welcome.

But Paul knew that if Kitty was anything – she certainly was _sweet._ So, he smirked, feeling stupidly proud for no good reason. "That she is." He watched her giggle again. "Too sweet for me." He said, with a faint smile.

Sam just shook his head, looking knowing. "No. The gods gave her to you for a reason. Everything she is, and everything you are – it goes together. She'll dull your edges and you'll strengthen her. It's happening already." Paul rolled his eyes. "Seriously. You're… calmer."

"Sure, man. Whatever you say." Paul snorted. Sam watched as his face softened as Kitty turned to smile at him.

He grinned to himself. "One day you'll get it, Paul."

* * *

Dinner was… nice. Not what she had expected, especially not from Paul's 'boss.' If anything, it felt more like she was having dinner with his family – but it didn't weird her out as much as it should have.

After dessert was when things started to get a little heavy. Kitty nursed a mug of tea to her chest, as Sam sat down next to Emily on the loveseat, and looked at her seriously. "Kitty – I don't suppose you're familiar with the Quileute legends?"

Kitty shook her head. Paul sat forwards, his expression uncomfortable. "We're not doing this now, are we, Sam?" he asked, voice more a hiss than anything. Kitty looked between them, as the air thickened, both of them staring unblinkingly at each other. It was Emily who broke the tense silence.

"We're just going to tell Kitty a little about the tribe background, right Sam?" she said, putting a hand on his arm. He twitched, breaking the stare to look at her with such intense love in his eyes that Kitty blushed slightly, feeling like she was intruding.

"Right." Sam said lowly, before turning to look at Paul. "Right, Paul?" Paul just nodded wordlessly, sinking back into his seat. "Kitty?" she was surprised to feel the eyes of the room on her – like somehow she had a say, like she _needed_ a say.


	22. Chapter 22

Kitty looked around the room, at the expectancy on Emily and Sam's faces, and the faint dread on Paul's. "Um… yes?" she said hesitantly. "I think… no – I'd like to hear them."

Paul sank further into his seat, and Sam smiled slightly. "Legend has it, that the Quileute have always had magic in them," Sam began, his voice taking on a hypnotic cadence. "When the tribe settled in La Push, they became fishermen and shipbuilders. As the years passed, in peace, other peoples coveted their land and tried to take it from them. Our tribe was small we couldn't defend ourselves – at least, not by fighting. Our first Spirit Chief, Kaheleha took the ships and left the land. At sea, Kaheleha used the magic in their blood to defend their land. He and all the men left the ships in spirit only, leaving their bodies behind under the care of the women. Though they could not physically hurt the enemy, the warriors used the other ways. They blew fierce winds into enemy camps; they could make great screaming in the wind and could manipulate animals to do their bidding. The survivors of the invaders scattered thinking the harbor cursed."

Kitty was staring now. She could practically hear the winds howling, masts creaking, men wailing in fear. Emily's face was unreadable, looking out of the window into the forest beyond.

"Generations passed and the last of the great Spirit Chiefs came to be. Taha Aki was a man of peace and was known for his wisdom. However, there was one man named Utlapa who believed that they should use their magic to expand their control over the near-by tribes, building an empire. When the spirit warriors left their bodies their minds were all connected with each other. Taha Aki did not like what Utlapa wanted and banned him from the tribe. Utlapa left and hid in the nearby forest. Every so often, the Spirit Chief would leave the village to a sacred and secret place in the mountains. He would leave his body behind and searched the surrounding areas for any dangers or threats. One day, Utlapa followed Taha Aki planning to kill him, but instead, Utlapa left his body, took Taha Aki's body, and killed his own. Taha Aki knew immediately what was happening when Utlapa joined him in the spirit world. For weeks he watched with despair as Utlapa made sure everyone believed he was Taha Aki. Then Utlapa's first edict came: no warrior was to enter the spirit world because he had a vision of danger, but in truth he was afraid of Taha Aki. Utlapa took liberties with the tribe that no one ever dreamed of. He took a second and a third wife, even though Taha Aki's wife still lived."

Kitty blinked hard, heart hurting for a man she had never met – but… _they were stories… just stories, right?_ Sam's eyes were far away as he spoke, mouth in a hard line. She could feel Paul's eyes on her, heavy.

"Taha Aki had been away from his body long enough to be in agony. He felt doomed of never being ever to cross the line between life and death. The great wolf followed him through the forest and Taha Aki felt jealous of the animal; at least it had a body and a life. At that moment the Spirit Chief had an idea that changed the future of the Quileute. He asked the animal if he could share his body with him and the wolf complied. As a single being, the wolf and the man went to the village. The people feared the wolf, shouting for the warriors' help. The warriors came with spears in their hands, but they stopped in surprise of what the wolf was doing: the wolf was retreating from the warriors and trying to yelp the songs of their people. The warriors realized what it was doing and could only think that it was being influenced by a spirit."

"Yut, an old warrior disobeyed the orders of the false chief and left his body. Yut gathered the truth and welcomed Taha Aki. Utlapa realized what had happened and raced towards Yut's body with his knife. Yut went back into his body but could not fight Utlapa. Taha Aki watched as Yut's spirit left the world and he returned to the wolf's body feeling a great rage. The wolf shuddered and transformed into a man before the eyes of the warriors. Utlapa tried to run but Taha Aki had the strength of the wolf and killed him. He led the tribe for many years because he did not age. He fathered many sons, who in time found that they too could turn into wolves on reaching manhood. However, they were all different because the wolf form reflected the spirit of the man."

Paul shifted in place and Kitty's eyes landed on him instinctively. His face was dark – not angry, but unsettling nonetheless.

"Trouble began in the North with the Makahs. Several young women had disappeared and they believed the wolves were to blame. Taha Aki did not want a war, especially since he could not lead his people any longer. He gave his eldest son the responsibility of finding who had done it. He led five wolves in search through mountains, but they only found a strange, sweet scent. The son and two wolves never returned."

"A year later, two Makah maidens were taken from their homes on the same night and the Makahs called upon the wolves. The Quileutes found the same sweet scent and went on the hunt once more. Only one of them returned. Yaha Uta, the eldest son of Taha Aki's third wife, returned carrying strange cold pieces of a corpse. He described what had happened to his brothers. One of them underestimated the strength of the creature and became a victim. Yaha Uta and his other brother were more careful but the creature matched their movements and got his hands on one of them. Yaha Uta found an opening on the creature's throat and began tearing at him desperately trying to save his brother. It was too late but he succeeded in ripping his enemy apart."

"Yaha Uta laid the remains of the creature on the ground to be examined. Suddenly, the corpse began to attach itself together and so the elders set fire to it. The creature was called the Cold One. They feared there were others like it since they only had one wolf protector left. Then came the Cold Woman, its mate. She was the most beautiful creature to be seen, though one small boy claimed the smell hurt his nose. An elder heard this and yelled for them to get away. He was the first to die at the mercy of the woman. She then proceeded to kill the others, until Yaha Uta arrived, followed by Taha Aki, his third wife, and the elders. When Yaha Uta was defeated, Taha Aki turned into an old gray wolf with the strength given by his anger alone. He began fighting the Cold Woman, when his third wife had a realization."

"She heard every word the witnesses told the council and heard Yaha Uta's version of events the night the other one was beaten. She knew that his brother's divergence had saved him. She grabbed a knife from one of her sons, ran towards the blood drinker and stabbed herself in the heart. The Cold Woman could not turn away from the fresh blood and gave in to the thirst. Taha Aki bit her throat and finished her off along with two of his sons who felt such rage at seeing their mother dead that they turned into wolves. Since then, our people have descended with the wolf in them, dormant until awoken by a Cold One." Sam finished softly. Paul was still looking at her, and she found she couldn't look away. His eyes were weighty, and Kitty shivered under the intense stare contact. "It's a quarter past nine, Paul. I think you should take Kitty home." Sam said, though there was an undercurrent to his voice that made Kitty's hair stand on end. Paul nodded jerkily, and stood, as if on autopilot.

"Good night, Kitty. I hope to see you again soon." Emily said, with a small subdued smile. It seemed that she wasn't the only one feeling the heavy atmosphere. Kitty hugged the taller woman goodbye, closing her eyes as the woman hugged her tightly. Sam stood up, watching her still. A presence behind her, a familiar warmth, told her that Paul was right behind her – almost looming. It didn't unsettle her as much as it should have.

Sam seemed to decide something, and clapped a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'll be seeing you soon." It wasn't so much a threat as a promise, his voice deadly serious. Paul twitched behind her, and instinctively – Kitty leant back slightly, into him. He stilled, calm restoring. "Paul." Sam said with a nod. His face was still unreadable, and Kitty knew there was a staring contest going on over her head. Finally Sam sighed. "I'm going to need you to come back here after you drop Kitty off. There's a… development." His eyes slid to Kitty. "At work." He added, as an afterthought. Kitty frowned, but Paul was already steering her away, large hand splayed between her shoulder blades.

She looked over her shoulder as they left, catching glimpse of Sam still staring after them, Emily's hand on his arm.


	23. Chapter 23

The ride home from Sam's house was silent. It wasn't the usual silence that fell between them, calm and easy. No – Kitty could tell Paul was fuming, turning something over and over.

She was doing her own thinking too. There had been such… seriousness in Sam's eyes. Such fear in Paul's – and for what? Over tribal legends? There was something going on beyond her comprehension – and it was frustrating her, niggling at the back of her mind. Something she was forgetting, omitting, something that should just click in place-

"We're here." Paul's voice was short, and Kitty jumped at the suddenness of it in the silent truck. They were, in fact, there – his headlights shining on her front door. He got out of the cab without another word, at her door before she could even undo her seat-belt. The sudden display of speed made her eyes widen slightly, his fingers ghosting over her waist to unbuckle the seat-belt himself – and then he lifted her down, with a gentleness that didn't match the hard line of his mouth, or the scowl creasing his brow. He walked her to her door, eyes looking everywhere but at her – searching the dark forest around them, the sky above them, but never landing on her. It was such a stark comparison to his usual intense stares that Kitty felt suddenly uneasy at the weird distance between them. He turned to go quickly when she opened the door.

Her heart – strangely, and unprovoked – jumped into her mouth, sudden anxiousness flooding her body. "Paul!" she cried, biting her lip hard to stop herself from saying anything else, as he turned back around. A part of her wanted to run to him, throw her arms around him and let him carry her away, feel that warm security in his embrace like she had that Sunday, like she _always_ felt around him now. He was looking at her, dully expectant, and the urge fizzled with her own embarrassment. "I just – will I see you tomorrow?" she sounded lamely pitiful even to her own ears.

Paul looked at her, unreadable again. "Maybe." He said finally. Kitty's heart sunk, as he turned to leave again – not looking back as he backed out of her driveway and drove into the night.

 _What had she done?_

She must have done something – something to upset him, shame him, maybe in front of his boss. Had she been rude? Inconsiderate? Disrespectful?

Kitty racked her brains, going through the motions in the shower, trying not to let the feeling of worry overwhelm her as she replayed his hard face over and over. She realised she had failed as she felt tears running down her cheeks along with the water, salty on her lips. Paul meant more to her than she had realised, and she couldn't help but worry that things might go back to how they used to be – back when they weren't… _friends? What were they?_

 _She had wanted to kiss him on Sunday._

He had been so gentle – kind – in a way she hadn't seen from him, hadn't seen from anyone outside her own family. And there was something magnetising about him – not just his looks – something that drew her to him like a moth to flame.

Kitty pressed her burning forehead into the cool tiles, trying will away the confusing tangle of emotions.

Perhaps it was her own fault too, that she slept so horribly – awake for hours, until finally, just before dawn, she slipped into sleep – images dredged up from her deepest imagination intermingling with memory she had dismissed as hallucination.

 _She was in the forest again._

 _The trees were surrounding her, boxing her in – creating an arena of sorts, leaving a clearing free. It wasn't daylight that illuminated the glade – moonlight was staining everything a silver-white, dulling the greens and earth around her. She had the prickling feeling of eyes on her – something watching her from the trees. Faintly – a whisper began, building in volume. It had a recognisable tone, but the language was unfamiliar – though she had the distinct feeling she had heard the words before._

 _Then someone stepped out of the trees. The voice stopped – and a phrase repeated itself. This time, she recognised the words – as she recognised the blood red of the man's eyes._

 _"Cold One."_

 _Kitty felt a chill spread through her, as the beautiful red-eyed man stepped closer to her. This time, she could see his teeth. They were shining, razor sharp – his lips curled into a terrifying smile. He kept walking towards her, nostrils flaring, and she looked own at herself in horror, as bright red bloomed over her heart._

 _From behind her – a low growl, familiar and yet not comforting – made her whole body shake._

 _She was on her knees suddenly, blood running over her skin, and turning her slick and scarlet. There was so much blood._

 _There were three men in front of her, broad and tall – and shaking so hard they were blurring, though her vision was fading at that point. At her whimper, one of them turned to look at her._

 _Paul's face was panicked – the expression familiar though she couldn't think where she'd seen it, and suddenly he was over her, cradling her to him. Behind him, she could hear snarls and growling. Then a whimpering howl, and a sickening snap. Kitty had the strength to turn her head, watching as one of the two giant wolves fell, neck at an unnatural angle. The black one snarled and leapt at the pale man._

 _"Paul, be careful." Her voice was weak. Paul wasn't even looking – didn't seem to care as the black wolf was thrown across the clearing, staying down. "Paul – turn around." He stayed looking at her, lips moving but nothing coming out. The man turned to them. "PAUL!" she looked at the man, his red eyes fixed on her. Fear paralysed her, and all she could do was whisper Paul's name weakly. But when she turned back to Paul – he was gone. In his place was a massive silver wolf, shining in the moonlight, eyes fixed on her. But it didn't fight as the red-eyed man got closer, staying by her side, eyes fixed on her._

 _Pale arms encircled the wolf's neck, and Kitty screamed._

"- _No!"_

Kitty woke up with a scream in her throat, her alarm blaring. Panting, she switched it off – and sat there, trying to make sense of what she had dreamed. It was almost like a replay of the things she thought she had seen in the woods, the day she had fallen, and injured herself. And… _Cold One_ – like in the legends Sam had told her. The men turning into wolves, just like Taha Aki, just like she thought she had seen-

"Kitty? What are you doing? We're gonna be late!" Topher's yell through her door made her start, fear coursing through her veins again.

* * *

They were late to school because of her – a fact that Topher lorded over her the whole way to their first class – but when she walked into science, she couldn't see Jared there. Kim waved her over, and Kitty smiled in greeting – but couldn't help the unease that was spreading over her.

At break, it became clear that neither Jared or Paul were at school at all – and Kitty felt nausea settle over her. Kim was laughing and joking with Topher as usual – and maybe it was paranoia, but Kitty thought her smile looked forced. As Topher left early to catch up with his soccer teammates, Kitty turned to Kim. "Hey, Kim – do you – I mean, have you ever thought about the legends?" she asked.

Kim's face went rigid with shock for a second, before she schooled her features. "Legends?" she asked, forcefully confused. "What do you mean?"

Kitty bit her lip. "Never mind." She muttered. Whatever was going on – Kim _definitely_ knew about it. Looking away from her friend to hide the suspicion on her face, her eyes fell on a familiar head of hair. "I'll be back." She said to Kim, standing to head over to the lunch-table full of freshmen.

The boy sitting next to Alexandra nudged her, so hard that her younger sister almost fell off the bench – probably as a result of his already developed muscles. "What?" she snapped at him, slapping him on the shoulder. He nodded at Kitty, smiling awkwardly. Alex turned around, "Oh." She said, raising an eyebrow at Kitty. "Um. Hey?" she phrased it like a question, and Kitty blushed at the eyes on her.

Kitty couldn't help but remember the suspicion in Alex's eyes and the nerves in Paul's – and wondered what exactly her sister knew, or suspected. Alex had always been the smart one, the instinctive – blunt with her intuition. "Alex – can I talk to you… about something?" she asked softly.

Alex tilted her head slightly. "You want to… talk to me?" her voice was equal parts wary and confused. Kitty couldn't blame her.

The boy on her other side nudged her – gently this time – and smiled at Kitty. With a start, she realised she recognised him. Jacob Black – from the convenience store. "We'll save your seat, Lex." He said, almost encouragingly. "Good to see ya, Kitty."

Kitty blinked in surprise at the greeting, smiling back bemusedly – even as Alex rolled her eyes, shoving out from in-between the two boys. Her sister led the way away from the table, and out of the doors until they were out of the noise of the cafeteria and out in the cool air. "What's up – no," Alex narrowed her eyes at her. "What's wrong? You look like shit."

Kitty reached up to touch the dark circles under her eyes. "Thanks." She said humorlessly. When Alex said nothing, just raising an eyebrow expectantly, Kitty sighed. "I just wanted to know what you said to Paul the other night."

Alex's face darkened. "Why? Did something happen? Because I _will_ kill him." The violent note to her threat made Kitty blanch.

"No! Well – nothing _happened_ , really… but it was just weird. There's some weird stuff going on – and I just wanted to know… if you knew anything." Kitty explained helplessly.

Alex made a face. "Yeah tell me about it. The whole 'tribal secrets' thing creeps me the fuck out. The amount of times I walk into Jacob's house and Billy stops talking like I've walked in on a murder – its weird." She said offhandedly.

Kitty smiled slightly. "I didn't know you were that close with Jacob? You're going to his house?"

There, she stepped wrong. She knew it the moment Alex's face shut down. "Of course, you don't know. You don't know anything about me." Alex said coldly, more than a little bitterly. Kitty opened her mouth – to apologize, to explain herself, she didn't really know – but Alex waved a hand, clearly done with the conversation. "Look, I don't know anything, but Paul and Jared and that Sam guy – apparently they're in a kind of gang. They call themselves the protectors, and the elders treat them like gods… like they're… reincarnated spirit walkers or _something_ , from the legends." Kitty swallowed thickly, turning the revelation over in her mind. Slowly, she realised what wasn't right. Alex raised an eyebrow. "Are we done?" without waiting for a response, Alex turned on her heel, and strode back into the cafeteria, leaving Kitty standing alone outside.

The grey clouds opened, and a light rainfall began – but Kitty could barely feel it.

There were things that were starting to make sense, impossible, frightening things that she didn't want to consider – but she couldn't deny two truths. One, whatever had happened in the forest that day hadn't been her imagination. Two, Paul wasn't human, and was perhaps something out of ancient legend.

 _Something dangerous._


	24. Chapter 24

It was like she had gone back in time – as she waited, each day, for the rest of the week – for Paul to show up at school. He was still absent, as well as Jared, neither of them responding to their phones. By Friday, even Kim was worried, though she was still trying to hide it from Kitty.

Kitty couldn't help but feel a little betrayed, because her friend had _known_ , for who knew how long – but hadn't said anything, still wasn't saying anything. What she couldn't understand, was _why_ Kim knew – because she was dating Jared?

She wasn't sleeping well, plagued with dreams of wolves and Cold Ones, and woke up more tired than she had been to begin with. She _missed_ him – even if she was partly confused and terrified. Part of her wanted him to return, and everything to go back to normal, but another part of her wanted it to be true – just so she knew she wasn't going crazy.

She felt like she was going crazy – paranoia plaguing her, especially at night. Babysitting Claire was turning into a nightmare. She swore she could hear things around the house, feel things watching her as she walked home, and then, lying in bed trying to sleep, she'd feel the cold creeping over her again.

But she had nothing to blame for her own stupidity on Saturday. She had tried calling Kim – to no avail. Her siblings were out, her parents were gone – and Kitty felt completely isolated. Remembering Emily's friendly smile, and open invitation, she pulled on her shoes, writing a note and leaving it on the kitchen table, before setting out to walk to Emily and Sam's house. It was stupid, but she needed _closure_ and some company.

* * *

It was different walking during the day, rather than driving at night – and before long, she was a little lost, wandering along an empty road hoping she was going the right way. The forest rose on both sides of her, intimidating and green, and dark as night between the trunks. She swallowed nervously, looking around for the dirt road that should lead to Emily and Sam's. There were two, branching off on either sides of the road; but for the life of her, she couldn't remember which one it was.

 _Left or right._

 _Right or left._

Before she could make her choice – a loud howl rent the air, and she jumped, whirling in place. It seemed to echo around her, coming from all sides, all directions. It sounded again, closer to the left this time, and she made up her mind, turning and sprinting towards the sound – something like panic taking root in her throat. There was something about the howling, something pained and desperate about it that unsettled her more than the thought of what she might find.

As she ran, she became aware of the whining underlying the howls, and panting, rounded the driveway. Emily's garden looked as pristine as usual, the house still warm and inviting, but the scene in front of the porch was completely nonsensical and terrifying.

There were three humans, all in varying stages of panic, surrounding the thrashing form of a silver-grey wolf – who was the source of the howling and whimpering, its front leg at an unnatural angle, and a bleeding gash on its back. At its side, a dark-brown wolf, with all too familiar mask-like markings was snarling, one massive paw on the skull of the silver-wolf, trying to hold it still.

The gasp she let out was tiny – but like it had heard her, the pained wolf on the ground snapped its jaws shut, twisting its head around to look at her. Emily's surprised cry at her appearance and Sam and Kim's horrified looks, the fear tightening her chest – all melted away as she stared back at the creature.

She… _knew_ those eyes.

There was no denying it – not when the dark amber irises were so familiar to her, not when she knew how they darkened when he was angry, how they sparkled as he smiled, how they softened in the morning sun…

" _Paul_." Her voice was a mere whisper, but the wolf – _Paul –_ twitched.

Her head spun – and she felt more than a little faint as realization washed over her. _Everything was true_.

A part of her was terrified, a part of her was furious – but most of her was burning up with sudden worry, because Paul was still bleeding, and his leg looked broken. Before she realised what she was doing, she was stumbling towards them. Kim hurried towards her, trying to intercept her, hands outstretched, face apologetic; "Kitty, I'm sorry – don't-"

Kitty pushed past her, shooting Sam a fierce look as he took a step forwards. He stopped in place, lifting his hands in surrender. Closer to him, she could see how big he is, see his fur rising and falling with his breathing, see the pain in his eyes, hear his laboured breathing.

He was hurt.

 _He was dangerous._ The small voice in the back of her mind warned.

 _But he was still Paul_. He was still her friend, her protector.

She knelt next to his head. He had stopped thrashing, but was twitching – with what she imagined was pain running through him. The other wolf had stepped away, melting into the trees, Kim hurrying after who she suspected was Jared. _But that wasn't important right now._

Sam cleared his throat. "He can't change back – or won't – but until he does we can't help him." He sounded tense, worry making his voice sharp.

Kitty bit at her lip as Paul whined again, blood starting to stain the ground around him. She could see splatter from where he had been throwing himself around. "What have you done to yourself?" she whispered to him, feeling her throat tighten with sudden emotion. Slowly, she reached out, and – hands shaking – touched the fur on his neck. It was soft, and she could feel the life in him – and everything suddenly felt very real. _This was not a dream._ The breath she sucked in was more of a sob, tears welling in her eyes as he whined again, eyes rolling back.

He shuddered underneath her touch, and like he was melting – the wolf faded, fur receding, body shrinking, until a very naked Paul was lying in place. Her hand was on his cheek – and he was looking at her. She heard someone give a startled breath, but didn't dare to look away. "Kit-" he tried, but Kitty shook her head furiously, a tear shaking itself loose, and running down her cheek.

"Don't talk – just save your energy. We'll- we'll make you better, okay? Just – just _please…"_ she couldn't finish her sentence, Sam crouching next to her, and Jared appearing out of nowhere, and the pair of them lifted Paul, hurrying into the house with him. Emily jogged after them, leaving Kitty staring at a pool of blood on the ground. _Paul's blood._

A hand came down on her shoulder and she jumped. "Sorry!" Kim apologized. Kitty looked up at her – and Kim's face twisted. "Are you okay?" she asked tentatively.

Kitty resisted the urge to laugh hysterically. "Am I-? _No!_ What the _fuck?"_ she exclaimed, another tear slipping down her cheek. She brushed it away angrily. " _What the fuck?"_ She repeated, more vehemently. Kim put an arm around her shoulders, and hugged her. Kitty couldn't help but turn into the embrace, craving the little bit of normality. "Kim, what happened to him? Why was he away?" she asked softly.

Kim pulled back, standing up. "I think that's something you two should talk about. Come inside, Kitty." Her voice was coaxing. "He'll be fine. Just come inside." She held out a hand, and for a long moment, Kitty just stared at it, mind whirling. Every rational part of her was telling her to run for the hills, to get as far away from the utter insanity and impossibility of the situation – but battling just as fiercely, was the strong impulse to go and see Paul, startling in its intensity. Somehow, unfeasibly, her instinct won out, and she gripped Kim's hand, letting her friend tug her up.

* * *

The house seemed to be holding its breath as she walked in. She couldn't help but frown slightly at the sudden relief that flooded Jared's face as he caught sight of her, the faint sigh that Emily gave, the way Sam relaxed slightly. She stared at Jared hard for a moment, remembering the brown wolf, trying to see the wolf behind his unassuming face.

"Kitty-"

"Where is he?" Kitty interrupted Sam, feeling a little guilty, but wanting to ease the anxiety in her stomach. "Is he-?"

"He's alright. He's healing." Emily said soothingly, and Kitty just stared again. Emily smiled apologetically at her obvious confusion. "Right – you can go and see him. Second door on the right."

"We'll be right out here. Just… yell if you need us." Sam said, and maybe it was meant to be comforting – but Kitty knew exactly who the large black wolf was, and didn't want to point out that she'd feel more comfortable in the company of one bedridden wolf, rather than a pair of perfectly healthy ones. She just smiled forcedly at him, and hurried from the room.

* * *

Paul was staring listlessly at the ceiling when she pushed open the door, arm in a sling and looking morose. She coughed slightly – and the effect seemed to be instantaneous. Paul's head snapped to her, scrambling to get upright in the small bed. Kitty's eyes widened at his wince of pain as he pushed himself upright, the bed sheets falling away and exposing a long bandage that had been wrapped around his chest – clearly keeping the wound on his back from bleeding everywhere. She hurried forwards, putting a firm hand on his chest – stilling his movements. "Don't." she whispered. He froze as her fingers danced over the bandage. "Why aren't you going to the hospital?" she asked, worry making her voice wobbly.

Paul, clearly lost in some pain induced delusion, smiled. "Oh, it'll be fine in a few hours." He said, almost airily. Kitty blinked at him, and he coughed nervously, guiltily. "Accelerated healing. It's a… um… a wolf thing." Hearing him say it out loud made her sway slightly, and to mask her sudden spike of disbelief, she busied herself with taking a seat next to the bed. She looked back at him to find him watching her, with the same intensity he usually did. _Some things seemed they wouldn't change._ However, she could see the faint hint of fear in his expression now, in the crease of his brow, in the wariness in his eyes. It was strange – now she had seen all of him – he seemed so much easier to read. How many times had she seen that expression, before she had known, stumbling around touchy subjects.

"A wolf thing." She repeated. He nodded slowly. Kitty took a deep breath. "Right. Um. Anything else I should know? Should I… lock my doors on the full-moon?" she tried for humour.

"That wouldn't exactly stop me…" Paul muttered, and at her muffled squeak, winced. "But no – no. No… full-moon-funny-business." He said.

Kitty gulped. "Okay. So… how, and, er, why?" she asked hesitantly, not entirely sure she wanted to know.

"It's… emotion related. At least normally. If I get… angry, I lose control. If I get sad, worried, then I turn. If I'm in pain…" he said. The blood on the ground flashed before her eyes and she felt her stomach flip.

"' _Normally'_?" she parroted.

Paul winced. "The Turn can be influenced by the presence of a Cold One. They trigger our survival instincts I suppose."

"Cold Ones." She knew she sounded like a broken record, but couldn't stop herself. _The pale man. Red eyes and being hunted down in the forest. A smile that promised death, and led to pain-_

A hand closed around hers, and she blinked, sucking in a shaky breath. Paul was looking at her, face concerned. "Are you alright? I promise you, I won't hurt you." He said seriously, face set, eyes earnest.

"I know." She said automatically, more surprised that she meant it than anything else. She knew somehow – that instinctual part of her purring – that Paul wouldn't hurt her. Something told her that he would rather hurt himself than hurt her, and that scared her a little. "It's not you that…" she trailed off, absently clutching tighter at Paul's hand. "That, that _man._ He was a… a Cold One. The one who _attacked_ me-"

Paul's face twisted savagely. "The one we ripped to pieces. I promise – _he's never coming back_." He said darkly.

"You killed him?" Kitty asked incredulously.

"Not him. _It._ Those bloodsuckers aren't human. Not really. He could have killed you – and if he did, then I don't know what I-" he broke off with a low growl.

Kitty looked at him. Under her inspection, he quietened – and now, knowing what she did, she could recognize what had stirred in his eyes. _The wolf in him was always close to the surface_. "You were there. You saved me." She said. He had been protecting her for longer than she had thought. Paul shrugged uncomfortably. "Thank you." She said softly. A smile tugged at his deliberately stoic face. Another impulse tugged at her, and she shifted. _She didn't want to hurt him._ "Can I – I mean, are you okay if I, well, will it hurt you if-?" Paul rolled his eyes, tugging her closer and half-out of the chair with the grip he hand on her hand. The dizzying suddenness of it made her choke off.

"Come here." He mumbled.

The bed _was_ small, not meant for people the size of Paul, let alone the pair of them – but somehow, Kitty was able to curl up next to him. His good arm had come around her, keeping her from falling off the bed. She could feel his body-heat through the bedsheets. He let out a low breath as she settled against him – and Kitty had the odd sensation of… _rightness_. That somehow, this was the best place she could be, the safest, the warmest, the most comforting place. He smelled like the woods, rain and pine. A wave of tiredness hit her, and her eyes started to close. But there was still more she needed to know – and she forced herself to stay awake.

"Paul. What happened?" she asked.

She could feel him tense against her, the arm around her tightening its grip. He sighed. "The mate. She's been circling the town. We had an… encounter."

"The mate?" Kitty asked, voice small as something horrifying dawned on her.

Paul hesitated. "The mate of the one that attacked you." He said finally.

Her eyes closed briefly. _Her fault._ "Because of me?" she asked.

Paul hastened to reassure her, but it rang false. "No! No, of course not. She wants revenge on _us,_ don't worry. You're safe."

Kitty scoffed slightly. "If I hadn't been wandering in the woods like an idiot than this wouldn't have happened. And its not _me_ I'm worried about." She said furiously.

Paul made a small noise, and she looked up to glare at him. He was smiling softly, with a cheeky glint in his eyes. "Aw. You really _do_ care about me, Kitten." He cooed teasingly at her, and she blushed furiously, looking away from him.

"I wasn't talking about you, big-head. I meant Jared." She retorted weakly – wondering when her life had become so strange, when it was normal to joke about werewolves and vampires.

"Sure." He chuckled slightly, and she stiffed as she felt a light pressure on her hair, a whisper of a kiss to her crown. He didn't say anything more, and Kitty didn't know if – or even how – to respond. She slowly relaxed as he stayed silent, and felt exhaustion creep over her again. Her eyelids slid shut, and she listened as his breathing evened out, the even sound carrying her to sleep.


	25. Chapter 25

Paul woke up the second he heard footsteps outside of the door. He couldn't have been asleep long, but his instincts didn't let him rest with his Imprint vulnerable. But he didn't want to wake her either, so settled for pulling a dark scowl on his face as the door was opened. Jared's mischievous grin didn't even falter as he stuck his head in. Kim, however, right by his side, blanched – eyes widening at his fierce expression.

"What?" he hissed, glancing worriedly down at Kitty as she sighed and moved. He relaxed when it became clear she was just wriggling closer, eyes still closed. He couldn't bare to disturb the temporary peace – she had just found out about a whole other world, full of monsters. That would be traumatic for anyone.

"You having dinner?" Jared asked, conversationally.

Paul shrugged. "I should probably get her home soon. But…" he looked back at Kitty again.

"We'll let her sleep for a bit longer." Kim said, smiling knowingly.

Paul relaxed slightly, nodding gratefully. _Just a moment more. He could give himself that._

His back still ached, though Paul knew that it would be almost healed by now, and his arm was tender but movable. Perks of the job.

It all seemed so inconsequential when she was with him, the steady thrum of her heartbeat all he needed to calm his own. She soothed him – and part of him had to wonder how unstable he would be without her. And now that she knew, it would make it even easier. One less secret. One less stressor.

 _Now he just had to work out how to tell her about the Imprint._

* * *

Kitty woke up to something on her cheek. It was familiarly hot, and she opened her eyes slowly to see Paul smiling gently at her. She only had a second to blush in his soft attention, at the hand cupping her cheek so intimately – before she remembered all the events that had led up to her being held by Paul in a too small bed in a near-stranger's home.

She felt a rush of fear flood through her again – picturing the red eyes of the Cold One again, with all the sobering chill of realising that it was real.

"I'm sorry." Paul mumbled, retracting his hand and moving away from her, even as her insides screamed for him to come back, to hold her and protect her. He got up off the bed, heading over to the window. "I know its not easy for you to be around me. Knowing what I am." He was holding his jaw tight, looking away from her, faced pained.

"What?" Kitty asked, completely nonplussed.

He turned to her, a sardonic and deprecating smile in place. "I know I terrify you. I'm a monster – and I can't expect you to be unafraid-"

Kitty shook her head violently. "Paul, it's not you I'm afraid of." She interrupted his rant. He blinked at her, his turn to look baffled.

"But, your heartbeat, your breathing – I can hear it – you're afraid." He said confusedly.

"It's not you." She said gently. "You don't scare me, Paul – not anymore." She didn't know what was possessing her, as she crossed the room to him, putting a hand on his arm. He looked down at her hand on him, and then back at her, brows furrowed.

"Not… afraid?' he repeated dumbly. Kitty grinned, and threw her arms around him. She couldn't feel shy with him, just wanting to ease his apparent discomfort and worry. His arms went up around her almost automatically, and she swayed them back and forth for a moment before stepping back. He seemed let her go reluctantly. "Uh. Good." He said dazedly. "Great!" Then his face went white. "Shit!" he continued, in the same tone as his bizarre outbursts. Kitty's widened in concern.

"What?" she searched his eyes anxiously.

Paul smiled crookedly. "I really should get you home." He said, and she slapped him on the chest as her heart gave a flip of worry.

"Don't scare me like that." Her voice was light but her eyes were serious, as she looked to his sling.

"Sorry. But really, we should get going." He said, and turned her towards the door. He looked happy, brighter than she'd ever seen him. She let him steer her down the hallways, biting her lip to keep her own dumb grin from spreading across her face.

* * *

Her mother answered the door when she knocked – and Kitty had to hide her smile at how wide her eyes got, as they travelled the full (significant) length of Paul's body. "Hello, darling – and…?" she said, face smoothing over in her characteristic coolness. Kitty could see right through the cold act, could see that her mother was burning with curiosity, and no small bit of anticipation.

"Paul Lahote, ma'am." Paul said, nervously, extending his hand tentatively. She took it, and Kitty knew that Paul was experiencing the infamous Maria Faye handshake. His eyebrow twitched.

"Nice to meet you Paul, I'm Maria. Are you staying for dinner?" she asked smoothly, making Kitty's eyes widen. She shook her head almost imperceptivity, but Maria just smiled slightly.

"Paul's having dinner at his… boss' house." Kitty butted in, and Paul shot her a contemplative look.

He turned back to Maria, his usual confident smile growing. "Nothing binding. Dinner with you and your family sounds lovely, ma'am."

Maria shot him an approving look, nodding once. "Call me Maria, Paul. Come on inside before it starts to rain again." Kitty bit back a groan. Maria shut the door after them, and Kitty was struck again by just how large Paul was, dwarfing her and her mother and their entrance way as he took off his hoodie.

"You can put it in my room." Kitty muttered, tugging on his hand. His fingers wrapped around hers, and to her horror, she saw her mother's knowing gaze land on the action. She flamed bright red, but shot her mother a defiant look as she dragged Paul down the hall. Her mother and Alex were a lot alike, both shrewd and blunt and very discerning – to the point of being intimidatingly observant. The only thing Kitty had been able to keep from her, was the conflict at her old school – and that was because of Topher being the buffer, he was a far better liar than she was.

Paul just followed behind her, and she could just _tell_ that he was grinning amusedly at her. "Your mom is cool." He said finally, as she moved to close the door behind them.

As if sensing her intention, her mother's voice rang out from the kitchen; " _DOOR OPEN, KATELYN!"_

Cheeks flaming, Kitty groaned. "MOM!" she whined loudly, as Paul snorted behind her. She turned on him, narrowing her eyes at his laughing form sprawled on her bed. "She's _not_ cool. She's annoying." She complained, moving towards him. He moved over, giving her some space to sit down. She flopped down as he stood up, prowling towards her desk, and her cupboard of knick-knacks and books. He sniffed, and she shot him a weirded out look. "Why are you smelling my stuff?"

He looked back at her and shrugged. "Just checking." He said.

"Checking what?" She demanded, feeling a lot more comfortable in her own room.

"If you smell so sweet naturally, or if its something else." He said easily, and to her surprise, she felt her cheeks flame again. He let her splutter, smiling serenely, his eyes travelling over her room. She saw the second his eyes fell on her guitar, and winced – snapping her mouth shut. His eyebrows raised, and he turned to her. "You play?"

She shrugged uncomfortably. "I guess."

He picked up the instrument and brought it to her, kneeling before her like he was offering it to her. "Play for me." He said – rather than asked, and she frowned at him. He fluttered his eyelashes, looking entirely unashamed. "Please." He tacked on finally.

Kitty took it. It was hard to concentrate when he looked at her like that – with all this warmth and softness in his eyes. She didn't understand why he did it and she didn't understand why it made her so flustered, why it made her heart beat so fast. Her fingers moved into position naturally, and she had to look away to concentrate on the chords – and to give her poor heart a break.

It was force of habit to run through the tune of the song in her head, force of habit to hum along to get the key right – and it was only when she had finished the song that she realised she had been singing. And he was staring. Wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

She laughed awkwardly, setting the guitar aside. "Hah. A bit rusty. I haven't-"

"You never said you could do _that_." He sounded almost accusatory, gobsmacked. "That was so – just… wow." He finished.

Kitty bit at her lip, running her fingers over the glossy wood of the guitar. "Thanks. I haven't been playing much."

Paul tilted his head. "Well, you're really good. When'd you learn?" he was still sitting on the floor, and it was a little disconcerting to be looking down on him.

"Back in middle school." She said, with a faint smile. Her music teacher, Miss Heart, had been brimming with enthusiasm – enough to make her catch a love of music. "Topher and Alex had always been sporty, but I really enjoyed it, so I learnt it and loved it. I stopped midway through high-school. Before I came here obviously. It stopped being so fun when people-" she cut herself off with a broad smile. Paul noticed.

"When people what?" he asked slowly.

Kitty shook her head. She had made a promise to herself when it had been announced they were moving; to not let what had happened define or shape her. Sure, she was a little different, a little more timid and a little more guarded than she had been in middle school, but she had been so sick of being _afraid_. That was why Paul had affected her so much – so soon, there had been another enemy, another bully, someone who made her feel small. "It doesn't matter." She said.

"It matters to me." Paul said seriously. There was something about the earnest look in his eyes, something deep in her gut that told her to _trust him_.

"In high school," she began, feeling the ache that always came with thinking about it, "Topher and I weren't, um, very well liked." Paul went very still. "Toph had a crush on a girl we used to be friends with in middle school – but it didn't end well. We were sort of punching bags. For everyone." Kitty sighed a little, feeling her shoulders sagging, and wishing she didn't look and feel so pathetic.

* * *

She was shrinking in on herself, and Paul could feel nausea roil in his gut at the sad expression on her face, pulling down the corners of her lips, and dimming the shine in her sea-green eyes. "-it was easy, I guess, to… to hurt us. Call us names, and ruin our things, and humiliate us. We were easy targets. I mean – it never got physical, not really at least, for me – but Topher used to get kicked around. When a group of them found out I did music, they went through my locker and ripped up all my sheet music, broke the CDs I had in there," the way she was speaking was so detached, like she was narrating a story, "I was very afraid." She said distantly.

Paul felt a deep-seated wave self-loathing wash over him. "And then the minute you came here, I made your life hell again." He grabbed her hands, which were sitting limply on her lap. She blinked out of her empty stare to look at him. "Kitty, I'm _sorry_. I truly am."

Kitty's answering smile was small, but no less brilliant – and he felt something unfurl in his chest at the sheer amount of understanding and forgiveness in her eyes. "I know." She said simply, and squeezed his hands. Paul could put a name to the feeling then; it was admiration, and an adoration so fierce that it scared him.

 _He was falling, and falling fast._

* * *

Kitty flopped down on her bed after Paul left, listening to the faint roar of his truck engine as it disappeared down the street – and muffling her happy laughter into her sweater sleeve.

It had been nice – better than nice – dare she say, perfect.

A little awkward, in all the best ways, as her father and Alex had given Paul their fair share of grilling – her dad's good natured, and Alex's prickling and shrewd as usual. Topher and Paul had joked about sport, her dad had talked about cars, her mother had talked about school, and Alex had even begrudgingly spoken about her interest in tribal art. Kitty had sat back and watched, aware of how Paul's eyes always went back to her, how he made sure she was smiling and laughing, how he had stroked the inside of her wrist as he said goodbye, lingering in her doorway with his intense stare.

And Kitty had had, over dessert, come to a very simple – and a little terrifying – realisation.

 _That maybe, just a little, she had feelings for Paul Lahote._


	26. Chapter 26

Sunday night found her tossing and turning in her bed, worried out of her mind. This was a part she hadn't thought about. What if Paul was hurt? She knew he had patrol essentially every night – both because there was only three wolves to protect a whole town, and because of the constant danger of the Cold One who was targeting the town.

Abandoning her hope for sleep, she sat up, throwing back her duvet and getting out of bed – immediately feeling the chill of her room. Timidly, she made her way over to her back doors, pulling back the curtain a little to look out into the moonlit night. Her grass looked grey and one dimensional, the forest reduced to a slivery mash of shadow. For a moment, everything looked still and peaceful – before something moved in the trees.

Heart pounding, she retreated back behind the curtain – peeking through a sliver of glass. _This was it –_ the bushes rustled – _it was coming for her, and she was going to die-_

A familiar, silver-furred shape came out of the bushes, massive body making no sound, and barely making the leaves shiver.

"Paul." She breathed, heart pounding again – but for a different reason. Since her realization the night before – she'd been very careful to make sure her thoughts only stayed on danger. She could admit freely that she was a little afraid of the feelings that she'd put a name to. She liked Paul.

The giant wolf was still moving, and Kitty gave a little squeak as he stepped into the shadow of her house, right up close to her glass door. He nudged at the pane of glass gently, and Kitty ducked back behind the curtain to open the door. When she opened it, Paul's human face appeared – suddenly transformed. "Hey, pretty-Kitty." He grinned, growing wider as she ducked her head involuntarily.

"What are you _doing_ here?" she asked instead, trying to take an unimpressed stance, crossing her arms and planting her feet.

Paul just stepped into her room, coming very close to her in one movement. She didn't even have the time to move back as he suddenly towered over her, tilting his head slightly. "Just… checking." He said mysteriously, smiling like he knew something she didn't.

"Checking what?" Kitty asked, heart thudding as he leant down a little, following her as she took a step back.

"Checking on my best girl." He said casually – and it was truly a mark of how embarrassingly gone she was that she actually blushed at the implications of being 'his'. "I could practically hear you tossing and turning from a mile away."

"Could you really?" she asked, curiosity returning. He hadn't really explained all of the traits that came with being a wolf – but she was willing to bet enhanced hearing was one. He'd already said he could hear her heart. She tried to not think about how humiliating it was that everytime he'd made her heart skip a beat, he had known. She took a seat on her bed.

Paul grinned and followed her. "I'm good – but I'm not _that_ good. I just had a… feeling." He took a seat at the foot of her bed, as she curled up against her pillows, watching him. "And here I am."

"Here you are." She said softly. It seemed silly now, now that he was with her; all anxieties and worries fading in the wake of his smile and his warmth. The late hour came crashing down onto her all at once, and she blinked sleepily, as they sat there in a comfortable silence. "What is it about you?" she asked faintly accusingly, as her eyes threatened to slide shut.

"Huh? What have I done?" he asked, looking exaggeratedly outraged, even as he stood up – reaching for her duvet and pulling it up over her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You know. You make it better." She said nonsensically. She wasn't even really sure what she meant herself – only that her feelings were bubbling to the surface the closer he got to her, as he knelt beside the bed with a fond expression.

"Make what better?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Everything." She whispered.

She wasn't too tired to miss the way his face contorted for a moment, before a dopey smile settled over his features. But sleep was singing it's siren song, and as he stepped away, his hand touching her cheek briefly, she didn't have the time to figure it out before her eyes were settling shut.

 _"Sleep well, Kitty."_

He may have left the room, sliding the door shut after him – but he didn't stray far. The moonlight was nice, the wind through his fur soothing – but nothing compared to the way he felt. He probably should have felt embarrassed – feeling so gooey over nothing much at all – but it was the way she looked at him, the way her breath caught, her heart fluttered, her cheeks warmed.

It was _her._ All her.

And for once, he allowed himself to hope.

* * *

Was it bold to say that she had had the best night's sleep of her life?

Was it vain to say that, for once, she had woken up… _glowing_? _Flawless?_ Was this how Beyoncé felt?

She grinned at herself in the mirror, danced her way through breakfast, sung in the shower – and even Alex commented on it.

"What's got you so… _happy?"_ she asked, as if it was a curse word, brow raised, stormy eyes narrowed.

Kitty shrugged. "I don't know… just… just…"

"That boy of yours?" Her mother said casually, passing by with a knowing smile.

Kitty balked, eyes shooting wide. "W-what?! No – hah, good one, mom! As if…"

"Methinks she doth protest too much…" Alex muttered, taking a sip of her coffee. Kitty glared fiercely at her, making her younger sister snort into her mug. "You look constipated." She said dryly.

Kitty dropped the attempt at the frown, smiling slightly. "I don't know…"

"Ah young love!" Her dad boomed brightly, doing up his coat and winking. Kitty sunk lower into her chair.

"Is this a family discussion now?" Kitty groused, pouting.

"Sure is, Kit-Kat!" As if summoned, Topher stuck his head in the door grinning like a demon. She groaned – but couldn't stop from smiling.

"You guys are the worst!"

* * *

Kim met her at her locker, rubbing at her eyes tiredly. When she took in Kitty – her eyes widened. "Oh – look at you."

"What?" Kitty asked.

Kim smiled knowingly, wriggling her eyebrows. "Did Paul go to see you last night?"

"Oh my god!" Kitty groaned. "Did I accidentally write everything on my forehead or something? Why does everyone keep saying these things?!"

Kim held up her hands in surrender. "Hey, no judgement here – whenever Jared's nearby I get the tingles. At first I thought I had bad circulation, but nah – just an Imprint thing." She said with a grin.

Kitty just shook her head. "Ew Kim, I don't wanna know about your _tingles_! And what the hell is an Imprint? Like a tattoo – did you get a tattoo?" Kitty ran her eyes over her friend, oblivious to the sudden panicked look on Kim's face.

"Did I say Imprint? Huh – funny, don't remember that." Kim cleared her throat, "Wow, look at the time, we should get to class." With that, her friend began to speed-walk away. Kitty watched her go with a faint frown.

 _Okay._ _Weird. Very weird._


	27. Chapter 27

Weird seemed to be the buzzword of the week.

The unspoken shift in her and Paul's relationship – despite being undiscussed, despite Kitty _herself_ not being able to define it – seemed to be known by everyone. By everyone, she meant her small group of friends – including Sam and Emily – and the La Push locals.

She'd just left the local florist – where the little old lady behind the counter had known her name, and had an odd twinkle in her eye as she'd wrapped an extra flower in clear cellophane for her. She wasn't sure what it all meant – and although she'd been resolved to ask Paul about it, the boy in question had been absent since the morning. He'd texted her an hour ago, a little message telling her he'd pick her up from school the next morning, so she wasn't worried as such – more _unsettled_.

That was something she had to ask him about; the odd pit in her stomach she got when she didn't see him. The tug when she was near him, to be closer. The calm that settled her down when they touched.

Kitty had had crushes before.

This was something else.

* * *

She let herself into Rosemary and Claire's house, flicking on the porch light to aid Rosemary when she got home, and made her way to the kitchen. Rosemary had called her last minute, and though Kitty had been at the shops, she'd assured the frantic sounding mother that she'd come over.

The house, however was dark.

Kitty frowned, setting down her flowers and grocery bag on the kitchen bench. The sun was just barely clinging to the horizon, the sky a mixture of deep indigo and black, tinged with a deep orange just above the tree-tops.

"Rosemary?"

There was no response.

Something tingled on the very edge of her awareness – a faint sense of unease, and she reached for the kitchen light, and flicked the switch. The light didn't turn on, and Kitty felt her stomach sink.

"Rose-"

There was a loud smash from behind her, and the light from the porch went out, making her jump. She clapped a hand over her mouth as she was plunged into complete darkness. Something flashed by out of the corner of her eye, moving past the kitchen window in the blink of an eye. Then – upstairs, something creaked.

Kitty gave a tiny whimper.

Sinking slowly to the ground, she reached blindly for her mobile phone in her pocket – pressing what she hoped was her speed dial, before crawling forwards towards the knife block, reaching up over the counter to grab at the make-shift weapon.

A faint, female laugh from the direction of the living room made her freeze in place.

Slowly, she retracted her hand – as slow, deliberate footsteps started moving towards her. There was a crackling from her pocket, and she hoped beyond hope that someone had picked up.

But if the woman currently approaching her with horror-movie slowness was who Kitty thought she was – then there was no-one who could get to her in time.

"You're afraid."

The woman's voice was soft and silky, faintly amused.

"I can hear your heartbeat racing, smell your sweat – practically _taste_ the adrenaline in your veins." The voice was close now.

The face that popped around the counter at Kitty's eye-level made her scream in fright – jumping backwards and banging her head against the cabinets. The woman – the _vampire_ – was pale, pale enough that Kitty could pick up her skin in the darkness, see her giant, sadistic smile baring all of her shining teeth.

The woman got down lower to the ground and half-crawled towards her, like a spider. "At least you're not a babbler. I'm sick of the questions; _what do you want, who are you, what are you?"_ the woman mimicked a high-pitched voice, shaking her head crazily. "And besides…" her voice dropped low again – and in a movement that was inhumanly quick, she darted forwards to appear in front of Kitty's face, a cold hand coming up to wrap so tight around Kitty's throat that the scream died in her throat, coming out as a pained gurgle as she was forced back into the cabinets. "We both know what I'm here for."

Kitty's vision blurred as tears began to build up in her eyes. She had been afraid in the forest, had never ran so quickly – and yet this sheer _horror_ consuming her body was like nothing she'd ever felt. Because this could not be explained away, because this wasn't simply a game – this was the face of her _death_. The woman drew closer, considering. A cold, dry tongue ran up her face – and Kitty gave a strangled wail as the woman licked up her tears.

The vampire made a gagging sound. " _Covered_ in their dog-stench." She muttered, almost to herself. "What is it about you?" she looked back into Kitty's eyes, and Kitty tried to recoil. It was getting harder to draw breath by the second – but she didn't dare struggle. She'd rather asphyxiate than die painfully. "They've been guarding you like a bone for _weeks_." Her grin turned feral. "Nearly got through too – but for that ugly grey one. I took care of him. I think." She frowned to herself, before smiling again. "Never mind. I'll just find him after this." Kitty couldn't control her reaction to the statement, kicking out weakly and trying to yell.

 _Not Paul_.

It was the wrong thing to do.

The woman's eyes widened in something like delight. "Oh… now I know… You belong to them. To _him_." She leant close again, wrinkling her nose – but still taking a long, slow inhale. "Poetic. Mate for a mate." Kitty tried to move again. Hissing in irritation, the woman grabbed her free hand, and in a movement as casual as snapping a toothpick – snapped Kitty's wrist back.

The bone gave way with a visceral snap, and Kitty howled at the pain lancing up her arm, and making her fuzzy vision go grey. There was warmth at her hand – and Kitty chanced a glance down as the woman's head lowered. There was a whiteish bone – sticking from her skin – and blood spilling from the break. The woman's grip tightened around her throat – her eyes going wide, pupils dilating – and Kitty was reminded bizarrely of a shark.

Then – from outside – a long, loud howl.

The woman didn't even have time to curse – before the kitchen window shattered, the huge body of a wolf exploding into the house, completely filling the kitchen and forcing the woman away from her. Kitty fell back against the cabinet, black fur filling her vision as Sam's hindleg tensed – ready to spring.

Then the kitchen was empty again, just as quickly, Sam and the vampire blowing through the rest of the surviving glass.

Kitty still couldn't breathe, air coming out of her throat in a wet sounding gurgle. Reaching up gingerly, she coughed – and felt wet splatter her lips, and her throat tighten impossibly more.

Outside, she could hear the sounds of fighting; snarls and howls and growls – but inside it was just the wet splatter of blood from her wrist, and the harsh sounds of her gasp for air. The immediate threat was gone – and yet – Kitty was still afraid.

" _P-ah_ …"

Her pathetic attempt at speech was more of a puff of air, costing her more energy. " _Pau…"_ she tried again, and felt a stab of irritation at herself, as she began to cry again. _Weak._

Outside, the sounds had faded, and there was an orange light flickering, as if someone had lit a fire. She closed her eyes, and pretended that she was sitting beside it, pretended that she was on the beach, and that Paul was beside her and smiling, and holding her close-

" _Kitty!_ "

The sheer panic in the voice from in front of her was enough to kickstart her heart again, and she lurched forwards dangerously, eyes flying open and coughing again, splattering blood over herself. There were warm hands on her shoulders, easing her back – and Kitty woozily met Paul's eyes.

His jaw was working, face dark like thunder, eyes wide with fear she could recognize, and her heart twisted, as she opened her mouth to reassure him. Nothing but a gasp came out, and she began to cough again, trying to dislodge the weight on her throat. Paul made a sound close to a whimper and scooted closer to her, turning to look at something out of her eye-line. "S-Sam – she doesn't – I can't – she looks really _bad._ " Paul's voice broke at the end of his stumbled sentence, and Kitty could make out tears spilling over his cheeks.

"-Ambulance… -minutes, if you just – keep her… -ill…" Sam's voice floated in and out of her hearing as her whole chest began to tighten, and she squirmed feebly. Paul's face got closer – but blurrier, and Kitty was only dimly aware of his hands on her head, tilting her head slightly, trying to get her windpipe open a little. She felt wet on her cheeks, his tears falling onto her face.

It was the way he was staring at her – caramel irises wide with terror and emotion – that triggered the intense wave of déjà vu. It was foggy – her memory of that day in the forest – the day that had started everything. But Paul had held her just as carefully back then as he was now.

"… _love y…"_

Kitty smiled slightly as Paul bit back a sob – and closed her eyes.


	28. Chapter 28

Waking up in a hospital was something that Kitty had hoped to never do again.

And yet…

Kitty took in the white of the ceiling, the discomfort of her throat, the dull pain in her wrist, the steady sounds of her heart monitor, and the faint breath of someone beside her.

It was morning – and she could hear birds, the dawn warming her skin where the sun had fallen across her arms. Her left arm was in a cast from her elbow to her fingers, and her right hand-

Her right hand was enclosed in a familiar heated grip.

Paul was asleep in the chair next to her, head pillowed on his own arm where it lay on her mattress, neck on an odd angle. She frowned, and pulled out of his grip to touch his taunt neck muscles, stroking at the skin at the nape of his neck worriedly.

The speed at which he sat up made her retract her hand as if burnt. He was staring at her, mouth dropped open. Kitty coughed lightly, trying to test out her throat. It was only then that she became aware of the tube that was easing her breathing – but the pressure on her windpipe was all too similar to the painful pressure of her last memory – but Paul took one look at her panicking face, and at her steadily increasing heartrate, and slammed down so hard on the Doctor call button that it shattered.

Kitty wanted to laugh, heartrate slowing slightly at his horrified face as the door opened. Paul met her gaze sheepishly as he shoved the broken bit of plastic under her pillow.

"Miss Faye!" the doctor was a woman, tall and sweet looking. "I'm very glad to see you awake." Kitty reached up, almost touching the tube, before Paul caught her hand. She let him hold her hand as the doctor hummed over her vitals, taking her time with her clipboard before finally sliding the tube from her throat. Admittedly, her breathing got minutely more difficult, but Kitty could only feel relief as the pressure was lifted. "Now – I must request a speaking ban, Katelyn, your throat needs more time to heal. You suffered a rather severe case of Laryngeal trauma; and it's very lucky we were able to salvage your vocal chords at all." Paul squeezed her hand as her eyes widened, the sudden flare in her heartrate audible to all of them. The doctor rattled off another set of dizzying diagnoses and warnings, and Kitty resisted the urge to fall back into her pillows and let sleep take her again. Finally, the doctor stopped, and smiled at the both of them. "I'll let the rest of your visitors know that you're awake."

Kitty turned to Paul again, and Paul opened his mouth – as if to say something, but once again, they were interrupted by the door flying open.

Topher and Alex burst into the room, flying towards Kitty with identical cries of greeting and relief. Alex squirmed her way onto the narrow bed, looking uncharacteristically gentle eyed, as she buried her face in Kitty's chest. Topher threw his arms around both of them. "I was afraid." Alex mumbled into her hospital gown. Kitty brought her uninjured arm to hug her younger – and yet taller – sister to her, Topher pressing a kiss to her hair wordlessly.

Her parents were next through the door, her usually composed mother looking half-crazed with un-styled hair and red-rimmed eyes. They descended on her with the same abandon of Topher and Alex, carefully avoiding her left arm and her throat, but her mom brushed her hands over her cheeks, holding her so gently. Kitty closed her eyes as burning began to build up in the back of her eyes.

When she opened them again, her father was shaking hands with Sam – the man taking up the entirety of the doorframe, flanked by Jared and Emily. Kitty only had a second to process Kim squirreling her way through the two men before she was by Kitty's bed, squeezing around Alex to kiss Kitty's cheek and hold her hand tightly. Kitty smiled a watery smile at her, Kim returning the gesture with a sniff. "I thought I was gonna lose my b-b-best _friend_!" Kim sobbed loudly, and Kitty squeezed her hand.

Jared came up behind her, and gently steered her away with a small apologetic smile. Kitty's eyes went to a healing scar protruding from his collar, stretching up towards his chin, and reached out to him. He caught her flailing hand easily. "No need." _To thank me_. The words hung unspoken between them, but Kitty squeezed his hand in gratitude anyway.

Emily pressed a gentle kiss to her brow, before moving to join her mother and father who were talking to the doctor at the door. Sam gave her a long look, before he crouched down, eyeing Alex – who met his gaze with a ferocious glare, tightening her arms around Kitty's ribs. He half-smiled, shaking his head slightly, before turning to Kitty. "I cannot apologize enough." He said lowly, almost inaudible under the clamour in the room. "I wish we had gotten there sooner." Kitty shook her head. Sam bowed his head, "We'll keep you safe, Kitty – I promise." His words were heavy and Kitty could feel them settle over her.

As if she could feel the weight of them too, Alex shivered slightly.

* * *

It was a little while until Kitty was alone again – well. Almost alone.

Paul had retreated to wait by the window when her family had arrived, and if Kitty hadn't turned her head to reach for the water, she would have thought he had left with the rest of them. But he was still there, and moved to her side silently, pouring her a cup of water, and helping her drink it.

He sat back down in his previous seat, and she held his gaze.

They still hadn't spoken – and although she knew he wasn't angry – there was something about him. He had his jaw tightly shut, and his eyes were shaded. Kitty's heart ached. She wanted him to hold her hand again, but he'd crossed his hands tight across his chest, and was avoiding eye contact.

 _Maybe he thought she wasn't worth it._

Kitty swallowed down the sudden flood of anxiety as best she could – because really, that would make sense. How many times had he saved her? How many times had he picked up after her messes? How many times had he been _hurt_ because of her?

Maybe after everything – he wanted to go back to how it had been – where they had been strangers at best, enemies at worst.

 _She didn't_.

She couldn't stand the thought of being afraid of him again, couldn't stand the thought of him looking at her with so much contempt again.

She reached for her bedside table, scrabbling for the pen and the notepad that the doctor had left her. Paul's eyes went to her movement, frowning as she began to scribble out her frantic feelings.

With a shaking hand, she held out the note to him.

Slowly, he uncrossed his arms, and took it from her.

She couldn't read his face, and for a moment – he was the angry, closed-closed off boy she didn't understand, and didn't want to know.

 ** _Paul – I don't know what to say to make you forgive me. I'm sorry for being useless continuously being a burden. I'm sorry that you've been hurt because of me. It's selfish to want you I know – but I'm so scared that you won't. I've been meaning to ask you about us._**

 ** _Not that there is an us._**

 ** _But – I mean, I want an us. If that makes sense. I meant what I said. At least I think I said it, everything was kinda dark at that point. Anyway._**

 ** _I'm sorry, and I don't want to lose you._**

 ** _and i_**

 ** _fuc_**

 ** _p.s._**

 ** _I love you._**

Paul swallowed hard, and closed his eyes for a moment. Kitty eyed the way his fist closed tightly around the paper, crumpling it slightly.

He stood up, and busied himself with folding the note, and then straightening the water jug, and propping it up, then moving the chair forwards and backwards – and doing everything but looking at her – and Kitty felt her stomach sink.

She nodded once to herself, all too aware of the way her eyes were burning again. _She couldn't expect-_

Paul's hands on her face were sudden, and enough to make her flinch in place – eyes going wide at his sudden closeness.

There was a fierceness in his eyes, a warmth that was threatening to burn her. But his hands on her were so gentle – and his thumbs skimmed her cheekbones gently, as he knelt beside her. She couldn't look away from him, even as a tear spilled over, and over his fingers. His jaw tightened – and then he was leaning in.

Kitty's eyes fluttered shut involuntarily, so aware of his closeness – she could practically his eyes still on her as he paused – breath fanning across her lips. She shivered, and he made a low sound – all the warning she got before his lips touched hers.

Kitty never believed in fairy tales. Kitty never idolised the idea of true love, of Prince Charming, or the power of a pure connection.

However – the tingling warmth that settled over her, the sweet sense of a strange euphoria as Paul kissed her – felt an awful lot like magic.

She leant into him, good hand coming up to grasp at his wrist – trying to anchor herself to the feeling. He sighed into the kiss, running one hand gently down her neck and down further to settle on her hip, holding her gently. She smiled, and felt his lips curl in response, hand moving to interlink his fingers with hers. He drew apart from her, and she watched him go, his eyes turned into their true honey-gold by the sun. He brought their interlinked hands up, and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. She felt herself blush scarlet.

"Do you know how much it took to stop myself from doing that?" he whispered. Kitty bit at her lip, shaking her head. Paul grinned, "Just as much effort as it took not to tell you I love you, every second since you woke up." Kitty felt her heart skip a beat, the heart monitor letting out an irregular blip that made Paul laugh. Kitty groaned slightly, her throat pinching a little. "I love you." He said, smile growing even wider at the same reaction. "I love you, Katelyn Faye."

Kitty opened her mouth to mime at him. _I love you too._

Paul's face grew tight then. "But I do have to tell you something." Kitty tilted her head curiously. "It's about… the whole, um, wolf thing." Kitty motioned for him to continue. He looked pained. "You know how I was, an _asshole_ to you – and then one day I stopped. Mostly." Kitty smiled as he pulled a face. "Well – something happened. Something that I _promise_ doesn't change or add or subtract the way I feel. I made sure of it. And if it freaks you out, then we can just pretend none of this happened and we can be friends, because – yeah, don't really want to lose you either. Literally _can't_ lose you so-" he cut himself off as Kitty touched his cheek.

She'd never seen him so nervous – and it was beginning to freak her out.

He took a breath. "It's a wolf thing." He began again. "When a wolf sees its soulmate, it makes sure you know. It will Imprint."

 _Imprint._

That word again. Kitty stared at him uncomprehendingly. Paul stared back, meaningfully, as if willing her to understand. Kitty just blinked at him. Finally, he groaned. "I Imprinted on you. That day… in the forest. I looked at you and I _saw_ you, and… and the rest is history."

It didn't hit her for a second.

And then a lot of things made sense. A _lot_ of things.

Paul's 360° shift. His kindness and restraint. The way she was drawn to him.

And even Jared and Kim.

Sam and Emily.

She took a shaky breath.

 _Soulmates. Real magic._

Paul still looked anxious, and she realised that he really thought that this would affect the way she felt. Yes – she was shaken, but she wasn't afraid. Because _she_ had held him at arm's length for so long, and _she_ had been the one to realise her own feelings. Perhaps she had fallen a little quicker, but, she would have fallen all the same.

She reached for the notepad and he watched her write again with a scowl. She smiled a little. _Still the same Paul_.

She handed him the note, and watched as a smile grew across his face; like the sun through storm clouds, her heart doing a stupid flip in her chest, cheeks growing warm as he pulled her to him – and kissed her again.

The note fluttered to the bed between them.

 ** _Makes sense. I guess the universe wanted you to settle down._**

* * *

 _I'm so fixated on the girl with the soft sound_  
 _And hair all over the place_

 _But you're sure that I'd learn_  
 _I'm pushing through bodies_  
 _Avoiding me and walking around you_  
 _But you're cold and I burn_  
 _I guess I'll never learn_  
 _Cause I stay another hour or two_

 _For crying out loud, settle down!_

 _\- The 1975, Settle Down_

 **The End.**


	29. Author's Final Note

_**From the Author:**_

* * *

Hey guys! I hoped you've enjoyed this long, wild ride with me! Thank you so much for Settling Down (lol) to read the story, and I truly appreciate the love for Kitty and Paul's narrative. Kitty and Paul's story is far from over - however, a new story begins!

If you enjoyed this fic, and you're a sucker for meaningful Imprint stories - then consider checking out 'Mine', which is a new story featuring and starring Alex. The prologue is up now, just jump onto my stories page to check it out.

Once again - thank you, and lots of love xx


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